By Oluwatobi Ayinde
When Noah Lyles entered the 100-meter finals, he had only one goal in mind; to take home the gold medal as he had promised to before the World Athletic Championship in Budapest began. At 9.84 seconds he did just that, but he surely didn’t picture 20-year-old Letsile Tebogo, breathing down his neck just with 4 seconds less at 9.88 seconds (a national record) to grab the silver medal.
This isn’t the first time Tebogo has drawn attention to himself or challenged the world with his fast feet.
On the 19th of March 2023, he broke his own World U20 record, dropping from 9.94 to 9.91 seconds and performing a Usain Bolt-esque celebration at the finish line. With this young kid putting Botswana and, by extension, Africa on the athletics map, it’s only natural to wonder who Letsile Tebogo is.
Letsile Tebogo was born on the 7th of June 2003 to a single mom, Serawita Tebogo, in Kanye, Botswana. At six, Tebogo was keen on playing football even though he was a sprinter, his teachers encouraged him to do both sports, but being benched from frequent injuries hampered him from progressing to a career in football, so he opted for a career on the tracks. .
Tebogo’s performance at the 2016 Botswana Primary Schools Sport Association championships, where he won the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay, earned him his first national team call-up at the age of 13. In the same year, he won the 200m bronze and helped his team win the 4×100-meter relay gold at the Confederation of Southern African Schools Sports Associations Championships in Namibia.
Tebogo says that he didn’t take sprints seriously until 2018 when he raced his first major 100m in 10.68 and clocked 21.12 in the 200m. In an interview with RunBlogRun, an athletics centered web-mag, he says,
For a while, I didn’t pay more attention to athletics until about 2018 when I realized I could go professional with it.
He has been a history maker since his U20 athletics days. On the 30th of April 2022 at the Gaborone International Meet, he was the first man from Botswana ever to win a 100m on a global stage, clocking a time of 9.96 seconds, a new world under-20 record. That was just the start. On the 2nd of August 2023 in the final lap of the World Athletics U20 Championships, at the Pascual Guerrero Stadium in Cali, Tebogo broke his own record of 9.96 by another 5 seconds, eventually running for 9.91 seconds.
Despite Tebogo blazing the trail in 100-meter events, the 200 meter events remain his favorite. He looks up to Usain Bolt, who broke the world record at the age of 23. A man of few words, Tebogo has a special relationship with his Mum, Serawita, one she describes as more of a brother-sister relationship in her interview with the BBC. She also believes that the culture of raising a child amongst his uncles, aunts, and grandmothers has made Tebogo turn out to become a humble, respectful, and successful young athlete.
In Botswana, having birthed a child doesn’t make him yours alone, she explains. We have this culture of raising a child as a family – the uncles, the aunts, the grandmothers. I remind him that it’s very important to give back to the community, and never forget where you come from, because blessed is the hand that gives. I have instilled in him that being humble will take him places.
Athletics require top athletes to move from country to country for competitions, meets and even training and Tebogo’s case isn’t any different, he hasn’t caught up with his mother since the end of April 2023; for training purposes, he had been based in the northern Italian city of Brescia.
Letsile Tebogo made the bold decision to disconnect from the world of social media just before the World Athletics Championship, seeking to regain his focus and prioritize his mental health. By eliminating the constant distractions and pressures associated with virtual stardom, Tebogo aimed to enhance his training and nurture a positive mindset.
Removing the temptation to compare himself to others on social media, Tebogo was able to wholeheartedly devote himself to his training regimen. The absence of constant updates and interference allowed him to focus entirely on perfecting his craft, resulting in heightened performance on the track and in the field.
Tebogo’s decision to go off social media improved his mental resilience, which brought him closer to the success he wanted to achieve. He made this known to the BBC after his successful World Athletics Championship outing.
Going off social media was a huge thing to do, It wasn’t easy. I tried my best to stay out of it. Here is the result.
Beyond his athletic prowess, Tebogo’s character shines through in his humility, and as he continues to make a name for himself in the world of athletics, his transition from football to sprinting and his dedication to his family and community highlight a remarkable young talent’s ability to become who he wants to be once his mind is made up for it. His journey would also encourage other young African athletes to push boundaries and achieve success through hard work mixed with determination. And with any luck, Tebogo will follow in the footsteps of his role model and break the global speed record.
