LAUSANNE: Letsile Tebogo, having basked in the “insane” celebrations in Botswana after he returned to show off the 200m gold won at the Paris Olympics, now insists he will retrain his sights to mine more sprint medals.
The 21-year-old raced to victory in the French capital in an African record of 19.46sec, a time that took him to fifth on the all-time list.
He also became the first African to win the Olympic 200 metres.
Tebogo returned to a rapturous welcome in Gaborone, Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi greeting the sprinter and other Olympic athletes after he had declared an impromptu half-day holiday.
“Tebogo has made history not only for Botswana but in Africa,” Masisi told tens of thousands of people who had packed the city’s national stadium as part of the celebrations.
Tebogo said the welcome back had been “absolutely insane. Seeing over 30,000 people at the stadium and along the roads as I returned home was truly amazing”.
“The support was overwhelming. I believe my life has changed because of this and I’ve also changed a lot of lives in my home country.”
Having now returned to Europe, Tebogo will go head-to-head with American Fred Kerley over 200m at Thursday’s Diamond League meeting in Lausanne.
The road ahead, he said, involved bringing the 100m and the 400m more into his crosshairs.
“We’ve talked it through with my coach about the possibility of competing in the 400m,” he said, having also been part of Botswana’s 4x400m relay squad that won a thrilling silver in Paris.
“The plan is to focus on the 100 and 200m first. After winning gold in both, we’ll then consider switching to the 400m.
“Since I’ve already won the 200m gold, now the 100m is the main goal.”
While South African Reggie Walker won the 100m gold at the 1908 London Games, it has not been repeated in modern history. The closest an African sprinter has come was Frankie Fredericks, the Namibian winning two 100m silvers (along with two 200m silvers) at both the 1992 and 1996 Games.
“I don’t see that as a disadvantage,” Tebogo said of no African winning it in recent times. “Instead, it’s more of an encouragement to make history.”
His 200m gold in Paris had been a boon “not just for my country, but also for the entire African continent”, Tebogo argued.
“I’ve shown that against all odds, everything is possible.” He added: “What happens next in my life as an athlete is about continuing to push those boundaries and inspire more people to believe in their potential.
“The journey has just begun and I’m excited for what the future holds.”
Tebogo received two houses from the government as a reward for his gold medal showing, but he insisted he would stay put at the home of his late mother Seratiwa’s for the time being.
His mother, who travelled to many of the meets and championships he raced in, died suddenly in May whilst Tebogo was away in the United States.
“I’m probably just going to rent those two out because I’m not moving away from my mum’s house!”
Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2024
