Mumbai: Letsile Tebogo, Botswana’s 200m Olympic champion, spent his Wednesday morning within the firm of over 1,000 children and on the identical tracks that he skilled throughout his major faculty years. “The memories, the flashbacks… that I came from here and now I’m a global star,” Tebogo mentioned.
Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo. (AFP)
That stardom sparked brightest on the night time of August 8, 2024, on the Stade de France in Paris, when Tebogo gained a spectacular gold within the 200m closing clocking 19.46s and beating American rival Noah Lyles. The timing made the 21-year-old the fifth quickest timing in historical past, and the medal gave Botswana their first Olympic champion.
For the south African nation with a inhabitants of round 25 lakh, the achievement was history-defining (a half-day nationwide vacation was declared). For his or her most achieved athlete, it was life-altering.
Very similar to Neeraj Chopra’s first observe and area medal on the Tokyo Olympics gave an unparalleled shot within the arm to Indian athletics, Tebogo’s Paris gold confirmed the trail to a distinct life for teenagers in Bostwana who, as Tebogo places it, typically drift into the world of crime and medicines. “Everybody’s life changed after that day,” Tebogo informed media on a digital name after being introduced because the World Athletics’ new Children Athletics Ambassador.
“For me, my team, my family. It impacted everybody and I was happy to hear and see a lot of youngsters who are now more interested in getting into sports; not just athletics but venture into anything and become the face of that sport.
“For me, it’s all about pushing myself to try and take those kids (away) from those unlawful behaviours, show them the direction and show them that they can still do something out of the sport they get into.”
That is near Tebogo’s coronary heart as a result of he has seen it from shut quarters himself. Rising up in a tough neighbourhood, Tebogo was uncovered to the world of crime from a younger age. “If not for sports, I’d probably be a criminal by now,” he mentioned. “Because in the neighbourhood that I grew up in, there were a lot of criminals. Back then, we thought that that was the only way to survive. But then, with sports, I knew I had to go to school (and) training. And then you don’t have the time to roam the streets to go into people’s houses. So once I discovered that, I started to pull in a few friends of mine, who are now playing football. And we always talk about how, if this didn’t work out, what would we be.”
Like his associates, Tebogo was additionally extra into soccer as a child — I used to be a left winger, he says — earlier than lecturers in his faculty found his potential and directed him in direction of athletics. “Athletics wasn’t that popular in Bostwana back then, up until the 2018 Commonwealth Games. From my side, everything was more towards football. Athletics was just part-time,” he mentioned.
The half quickly made method for full. At 18, Tebogo grew to become the primary man from Botswana to interrupt the 10-second barrier in 100m. He gained back-to-back 100m gold medals on the 2021 and 2022 World U-20 Championships, and a yr later from the senior Worlds in Budapest, introduced residence the 100m silver and 200m bronze.
Final yr’s Paris Olympics put a stamp on his international stardom as one other face to be careful for on the observe. Athletes from South African areas have been extra famend for lengthy distance racing, however Tebogo’s dash present over the previous few years has modified that notion.
“Back in the days, the African continent was believed (to produce athletes) for long-distance events. For me, it was about taking the risk to make sure I show people that Africa is not just for long distances. It also can produce something more,” he mentioned. “Now the long distances are slowly fading away, which is something I don’t want. I want us to be balanced between sprints and long distances.”
Rivalry with Lyles
Not simply on the observe, Tebogo additionally created fairly a stir in his post-final press convention when he mentioned he couldn’t be the face of world athletics as a result of he wasn’t “an arrogant or loud person like Noah”. Lyles, who revealed after the ultimate he had Covid-19, want to have his say, on and off the observe. Their rivalry is sure to develop, regardless that Tebogo added a pleasant contact to it.
“We do get along off the track. When we’re on it, it’s all about business,” Tebogo mentioned of Lyles. “The arrogance — he’s good to sell our sport, because he knows what to do. But with me, I shy away from doing that, because that’s how I am.”