Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo has recently been making waves all across the track and field world for his jaw-dropping speed. With a roaring success against Noah Lyles at the 200m sprint, the icon has since become a rising star in the community.
Recently, his stellar performance at the 4x400m relay, along with his teammates Busang Kebinatshipi, Anthony Pesela, and Bayapo Ndori, won them the silver, narrowly missing out on the gold bagged by Team USA.
Yet, their group received flowers from all over the world for the tough competition they put up. However, one milestone by Tebogo shone brightly amongst other achievements across various teams.
He marked the fastest split at the Paris Olympics during the 4x400m race, clocking in at 43.03s. This record only fell a few milliseconds short of the 42.94s that Michael Johnson established in 1993.
This historic moment for the track and field world deserved celebrations and fans joined in to express their shock and awe for Tebogo and his record on X.
Kid’s gonna be a problem, next two olympics!!!
— DJ Fresh (Big Dawg) (@DJFreshSA) August 10, 2024
Several felt that he was a promising athlete who still had much more fire left in him.
He is going to dominate for years. He is something else.
— Minja (@UtdMinja) August 10, 2024
Some even rooted for a 400m sprint from him sometimes.
Incredible run by Letsile. Looking forward to see him run 400m
— John (@John73014818) August 10, 2024
Chiming in with similar views, another fan felt that it was time for Tebogo to focus on long-distance sprinting instead of 100m.
He should quit the 100m. Focus on 200m and 400m
— Nosipho Dhladhla (@NosiphoDhladhla) August 10, 2024
Lastly, recalling his scathing dig at Noah Lyles from the 200m race, one fan joked about how he might just emerge as the face of the track instead.
At this rate he will be the face of track whether he likes it or not
— VRoseRedAndBlack❤ (@MilanRodnee) August 10, 2024
What did Tebogo taunt Noah Lyles for?
Following his victory in the 200m sprint, Tebogo attended a press conference to field questions from the media. Amidst discussions about his coaching and training regimen, a reporter inquired about his perspective on the current state of track and field.
The journalist specifically asked if Tebogo believed he could become the new face of track sports after securing his historic gold medal. In response, Tebogo playfully deflected the question and instead brought up his competitor, Lyles.
Lyles had been forced to take time off after the race due to a COVID-19 diagnosis. In Lyles’ absence, Tebogo designated him as the face of track and field.
Interestingly, Tebogo justified this choice by describing Lyles as “arrogant and loud” – characteristics he considered suitable for the role.
