Letsile Tebogo (; born 7 June 2003) is a

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

sprinter. He won the gold medal at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

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. Tebogo won in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

and placed second in the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

at both the

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and 2022 World Athletics Under-20 Championships. In 2021, he became the first Botswana athlete to claim the 100 m title at any World Championships level. He is the 200 m 2022 African champion, becoming the youngest winner of this title in competition history. He broke the 300 m world best, running a time of 30.69 seconds on February 17, 2024 at altitude in Pretoria, South Africa. Tebogo has held the world U20 record in the 100 m since April 2022. He was the first man from Botswana to break the 10-second barrier.

Career

Tebogo gained his first international experience at the age of 17 at the 2021 World Athletics Relays held in May in

Chorzów Chorzów ( ; ; ) is a city in the Silesia region of southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central cities of the Metropolis GZM – a metropolis with a population of 2 million. It is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Rawa ...

, Poland. In August, he competed at the World Under-20 Championships in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, Kenya, winning the

and finishing second in the

. On 19 February 2022, the 18-year-old set a new national record in the 100 m at the Botswana Athletics Championships with a time of 10.08 seconds. 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. On 15 July, he further improved his record in his debut race at the

World Athletics Championships The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial sport of athletics, athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations ...

held in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, 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 Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...

, Colombia. At the end of the race he celebrated early, drawing comparisons to 100 m and 200 m world records holder

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt (; born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican retired sprinter who is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time. He is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, ...

. On 8 August 2024, Tebogo won the 200 m final at the Paris Olympics, earning the first-ever gold medal for Botswana with a time of 19.46s. His victory led to a holiday being declared in Botswana to celebrate his feat on the afternoon of 9 August. The

government of Botswana The Government of Botswana often abbreviated as GOB, is the union government created by the constitution of Botswana having the executive, parliament, and the judiciary. The Seat of the Government is located in Gaborone, Botswana. The governme ...

also awarded him two houses in recognition of his victory. In September 2024, Tebogo became the first male winner of the newly inaugurated

Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who made history at the Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics, 1936 Olympic Games by becoming the first person to win four gold meda ...

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. In October 2024, for his historic achievement as an Olympic champion for Botswana, Tebogo received the

Association of National Olympic Committees The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) is an international organization that affiliates the current 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Every two years, it gathers all it ...

(ANOC) award for best male athlete of Paris 2024. In December 2024, Tebogo was named World Athletics Male Athlete of the Year. At the same event, Tebogo was named the Male Track Athlete of the Year winner ahead of Norway's 5000 m gold medalist Jakob Ingebrigtsen. In April 2025, Olympic champion Tebogo was appointed as the Kids’ Athletics Day 2025 ambassador by

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

Achievements

Personal bests

International competitions

Circuit wins and titles

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meet competitions. The inaugural season was ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

: Lausanne Athletissima (200 m) :*

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

: Monaco Herculis (200 m), Lausanne Athletissima (200 m), Kamila Skolimowska Memorial (200 m), Rome Golden Gala (100 m), Zürich Weltklasse (200 m) :*

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

: Doha Diamond League (200 m) * World Athletics Continental Tour :*

: Botswana Golden Grand Prix (200 m) :*

: Grand Prix Lombardia Brescia (200 m) :*

: Botswana Golden Grand Prix (200 m)

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tebogo, Letsile 2003 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Botswana male sprinters World Athletics U20 Championships winners People from Kanye, Botswana African Championships in Athletics winners World Athletics Championships medalists Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Botswana Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists for Botswana Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Diamond League winners Olympic athletes for Botswana 21st-century Botswana sportsmen