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Letsile Tebogo (Tswana pronunciation: [lɪt͡silɛ tɛbʊχo]; born 7 June 2003)[3] is a sprinter from Botswana. He won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the 200 metres event, with his win earning the first-ever Olympic gold medal for Botswana. He also won the silver medal at the 2023 World Championships in the 100 m and followed it up with a bronze medal in the 200 m five days later.[4]
.jpg) Tebogo at the 2023 World Athletics Championships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname | School-boy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Botswana | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 7 June 2003 Kanye, Botswana[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 77 kg (170 lb)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Botswana | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | Sprints | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | Nike | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal bests | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Tebogo won in the 100 metres and placed second in the 200 metres at both the 2021 and 2022 World Athletics Under-20 Championships. In 2021, he became the first Botswana athlete to claim the 100m title at any World Championships level. He is the 200m 2022 African champion, becoming the youngest winner of this title in competition history. He broke the 300m world best, running a time of 30.69 seconds on February 17, 2024 at altitude in Pretoria, South Africa.[5]
Tebogo has held the world U20 record in the 100m since April 2022. He was the first man from Botswana to break the 10-second barrier.
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Letsile Tebogo gained his first international experience at the age of 17 at the 2021 World Athletics Relays held in May in Chorzów, Poland.[3] In August, he competed at the World Under-20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, winning the 100 metres and finishing second in the 200 metres.[3]
On 19 February 2022, the 18-year-old set a new national record in the 100m at the Botswana Athletics Championships with a time of 10.08 seconds.[6] Two months later, he became the first man from Botswana to break the 10-second barrier at the event as he clocked a time of 9.96 seconds at the Gaborone International Meet, setting a new world under-20 record.[7] On 15 July, he further improved his record in his debut race at the World Athletics Championships held in Eugene, Oregon, with a time of 9.94 seconds. The following month, he broke his own record again, clocking a 9.91 second performance in the final of the World U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia.[8][9] At the end of the race he celebrated early, drawing comparisons to 100m and 200m world records holder Usain Bolt.[10]
On 8 August 2024, Tebogo won the 200m final at the Paris Olympics, earning the first-ever gold medal for Botswana with a time of 19.46s.[3][11] His victory led to a holiday being declared in Botswana to celebrate his feat on the afternoon of 9 August.[12] The government of Botswana also awarded him two houses in recognition of his victory.[13]
In September 2024, Tebogo became the first male winner of the newly inaugurated Jesse Owens Rising Star Award at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussel. The 21-year-old's 19.80 was the best performance of the final by a male athlete aged 23 or under, even though he did not win the final.[14]
In October 2024, for his historic achievement as an Olympic champion for Botswana, Tebogo received the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) award for best male athlete of Paris 2024.[15]
In December 2024, Tebogo was named World Athletics Male Athlete of the Year.[16] At the same event, Tebogo was named the Male Track Athlete of the Year winner ahead of Norway's 5000m gold medallist Jakob Ingebrigtsen.[17]
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Personal bests
| Distance | Time (s) | Wind | Location | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 meters | 9.86 | +1.0 m/s | Paris, France | August 4, 2024 | NR |
| 200 meters | 19.46 | Paris, France | August 8, 2024 | NR, AR | |
| 300 meters | 30.69 | Pretoria, South Africa | February 17, 2024 | WB | |
| 400 meters | 44.29 | Pretoria, South Africa | March 18, 2024 | ||
| Youth and junior achievements | |||||
| 100 meters | 9.91 | +0.8 m/s | Cali, Colombia | August 2, 2022 | World under-20 record |
| 200 meters | 19.96 | -1.0 m/s | Cali, Colombia | August 4, 2022 | AU20R |
International competitions
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | World Relays | Chorzów, Poland | 13th (h) | 4 × 100 m relay | 39.55 | SB |
| World U20 Championships | Nairobi, Kenya | 1st | 100 m | 10.19 | ||
| 2nd | 200 m | 20.38 | ||||
| 2022 | African Championships | Saint Pierre, Mauritius | 1st | 200 m | 20.26 | |
| – (f) | 4 × 100 m relay | DQ | ||||
| World Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 16th (sf) | 100 m | 10.17 | (h: WU20R NR [note 1]) | |
| World U20 Championships | Cali, Colombia | 1st | 100 m | 9.91 | CR WU20R NR | |
| 2nd | 200 m | 19.96 | CR | |||
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 2nd | 100 m | 9.88 | NR |
| 3rd | 200 m | 19.81 | ||||
| 2024 | World Relays | Nassau, Bahamas | 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 2:59.11 | |
| Olympic Games | Paris, France | 6th | 100 m | 9.86 | NR | |
| 1st | 200 m | 19.46 | AR | |||
| 2nd | 4 × 400 m relay | 2:54.53 | AR |
Circuit wins and titles
- 2023: Lausanne Athletissima (200 m)
- 2024: Monaco Herculis (200 m), Lausanne Athletissima (200 m), Kamila Skolimowska Memorial (200 m), Rome Golden Gala (100 m), Zürich Weltklasse (200 m)
- 2023: Botswana Golden Grand Prix (200 m)
- 2024: Grand Prix Lombardia Brescia (200 m)
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- In the heats Tebogo set a world under-20 and national record with a time of 9.94 seconds.
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