Letsile Tebogo has arrived. The World Junior phenom made good on his promise by capturing the Paris 2024 Olympic Games men’s 200m final in a new personal best of 19.46.
“The 200m is more everybody’s race, so you can correct along the way,” said the Botswanan.
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Letsile Tebogo, 21, is the world junior champion, and in 2022, he became the first person from Botswana to break 10 seconds, lowering that to win the Cali, Colombia World Under-20 Championships in 9.91. In 2023, he broke Frankie Fredericks’ African record to run 19.50.
Along with a silver medal in the 100m World Final, he has a bronze medal from Budapest in the 200m, coming up short behind Noah Lyles and fellow junior prodigy Erriyon Knighton.
In February of this year, he made noise by breaking the world record in the 300m in 30.69 and increased the volume by running a 44.29 400m in March.
Despite narrowly missing the podium in the 100m, his new personal best and national record of 9.86 for fifth place seemed to garner him more confidence and momentum going into his preferred event.
In qualifying for the final, he ran the fastest semifinal time of 19.96, defeating Lyles for the first time in his career.
From the gun, Letsile Tebogo got a solid start, jumping out and pacing with American Kenny Bednarek, who was to his immediate outside in lane 8. By the time the race got off the curve, Tebogo and Bednarek were even, with Lyles closing. Tebogo would get enough separation from both his American rivals to come across the line celebrating, thumping his chest like Usain Bolt did in his prime (an act he has famously emulated at the junior level).
“I knew I had to match Kenny’s start first, because he has the best start when he’s in front of you,” said Tebogo. “When we were on the straight, I was neck and neck with Kenny, I knew I had the 400m program on my legs, so I would just use it to finish the race.”
Bednarek’s 19.62 effort took silver, while Lyles faded to bronze with a 19.70.
This would also give Lyles only his second defeat since Tokyo, where he also got bronze. As a whole, Team USA would replicate their 200m final positions from Tokyo, with Knighton coming in fourth in 19.99.
Lyles collapsed in exhaustion after the race and needed medical assistance to get off the track. Lyles later revealed he had been running with a COVID infection.
At the press conference, Tebogo humbly still deferred to Lyles as the poster child for the sport currently.
Letsile Tebogo Calls Noah Lyles “Arrogant and Loud” after Paris 2024 win
“I’m not an arrogant or loud person like Noah, so I believe Noah is the face of Athletics.”
Tebogo’s triumph is in sync with many first-time Olympic medalists and champions for a variety of countries this year.
In fact, his victory was fitting for a final with four sprinters from the continent of Africa. Zimbabwean Tapiwanashe Makarawu was sixth in 20.10. Joseph Fahnbulleh of Liberia, in his second Olympic Final, was seventh in 20.15, while Zimbabwean Makanakaishe Charambe was eighth in 20.53.
Although it would be tempting to get macrocosmic, Tebogo said he could only speak for Botswana. “What makes us special is that we have coaches that are dedicated and passionate about what they want to do and will help you every step of the way until you make it.”
Tebogo, who also lost his mother earlier this year, was reflective in the post-conference. “She would be the happiest person on the planet, because she believed in me and I had so much doubt.”
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