Letsile Tebogo

{{Infobox sportsperson

| headercolor = #ABCAE9

| name =

| nickname = School-boy

| image = Letsile Tebogo (cropped).jpg

| imagesize = 200

| caption = Tebogo at the 2023 World Athletics Championships

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|2003|6|7}}

| birth_place = Kanye, Botswana{{cite web |url=https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/athlete/letsile-tebogo_1936983 |title=TEBOGO Letsile |work=Paris 2024 Olympics |access-date=3 August 2024 |archive-date=5 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805221814/https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/athlete/letsile-tebogo_1936983 |url-status=live }}

| death_date =

| death_place =

| employer =

| height = 1.84 m

| weight = 77 kg{{cite web |url=https://www.tilastopaja.info/db/at.php?Sex=1&ID=343821 |title=Tilastopaja Oy Track and field statistics | Letsile Tebogo |website=Tilastopaja.eu |access-date=24 June 2024 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328061705/https://www.tilastopaja.info/db/at.php?Sex=1&ID=343821 |url-status=live}}

| country = {{BOT}}

| nationality = Botswana

| sport = Athletics

| event = Sprints

| team = Nike

| retired =

| pb = {{ubl

|100 m: 9.86 NR (Paris 2024)

|200 m: 19.46 {{AthAbbr|AR|African}} (Paris 2024)

|300 m: 30.69 {{AthAbbr|WB}} (Pretoria 2024)

|400 m: 44.29 (Pretoria 2024)

}}

| medaltemplates = {{Medal|Sport|Men's athletics}}

{{Medal|Country|{{BOT}}}}

}}

Letsile Tebogo ({{IPA|tn|lɪt͡silɛ tɛbʊχo}}; born 7 June 2003){{cite web |title=Letsile TEBOGO – Athlete Profile |url=https://worldathletics.org/athletes/botswana/letsile-tebogo-14883897 |website=World Athletics |access-date=1 January 2023 |archive-date=18 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418081510/https://worldathletics.org/athletes/botswana/letsile-tebogo-14883897 |url-status=live }} is a Botswana sprinter. 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.{{cite news |title=USA's Noah Lyles wins 100m world title as Hughes seals bronze for GB |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/aug/20/usas-noah-lyles-wins-100m-world-title-as-hughes-seals-bronze-for-gb |access-date=20 August 2023 |agency=The Associated Press |work=The Guardian |date=20 August 2023 |archive-date=20 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820193856/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/aug/20/usas-noah-lyles-wins-100m-world-title-as-hughes-seals-bronze-for-gb |url-status=live }}

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 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.{{Cite web |title=Tebogo breaks world 300 m best with 30.69 in Pretoria | REPORT | World Athletics |url=https://worldathletics.org/news/report/letsile-tebogo-world-300m-best-pretoria |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=worldathletics.org |archive-date=20 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220013920/https://worldathletics.org/news/report/letsile-tebogo-world-300m-best-pretoria |url-status=live }}

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, Poland. In August, he competed at the World Under-20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, winning the 100 metres and finishing second in the 200 metres.

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.{{Cite web|last=Kolantsho|first=Calistus|date=21 February 2022|title=Letsile sets new 100m record|url=https://www.mmegi.bw/sports/letsile-sets-new-100m-record/news|access-date=23 February 2022|website=Mmegi Online|language=en|archive-date=12 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512023929/https://www.mmegi.bw/sports/letsile-sets-new-100m-record/news|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite news|date=30 April 2022|url=https://worldathletics.org/news/report/world-u20-records-knighton-19-49-tebogo-9-96|title=World U20 sprint records fall as Knighton runs 19.49 and Tebogo clocks 9.96|publisher=World Athletics|access-date=30 April 2022|archive-date=1 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501054944/https://worldathletics.org/news/report/world-u20-records-knighton-19-49-tebogo-9-96|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite web|date=3 August 2022|url=https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-u20-championships/cali22/news/report/wu20-cali-22-day-two-afternoon-tebogo|title=Tebogo runs 9.91 world U20 record to claim 100m crown in Cali|publisher=World Athletics|access-date=3 August 2022|archive-date=13 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813033144/https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-u20-championships/cali22/news/report/wu20-cali-22-day-two-afternoon-tebogo|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |date=10 November 2022 |title=Spotlight on Rising Stars: Kerrica Hill and Letsile Tebogo |url=https://www.worldathletics.org/awards/news/spotlight-rising-stars-kerrica-hill-letsile-tebogo |access-date=10 November 2022 |website=World Athletics |archive-date=10 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221110095054/https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/spotlight-rising-stars-kerrica-hill-letsile-tebogo |url-status=live }} At the end of the race he celebrated early, drawing comparisons to 100 m and 200 m world records holder Usain Bolt.{{cite web|date=3 August 2022|url=https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/tebogo-draws-bolt-comparisons-after-showboating-junior-record-2022-08-03/|title=Tebogo draws Bolt comparisons after showboating to junior record|publisher=Reuters|access-date=3 August 2022|archive-date=3 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803053109/https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/tebogo-draws-bolt-comparisons-after-showboating-junior-record-2022-08-03/|url-status=live}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/articles/cp81x1k1yjno|title=Tebogo wins stunning 200m as Covid-hit Lyles denied|publisher=BBC Sport|accessdate=14 August 2024}} His victory led to a holiday being declared in Botswana to celebrate his feat on the afternoon of 9 August.{{cite web|date=9 August 2024|url=https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-botswana-tebogo-168aca162724619b2a1718eeb882696e/|title=Botswana's people get the afternoon off work to celebrate a first gold at the Olympics |publisher=Associated Press|access-date=9 August 2024}} The government of Botswana also awarded him two houses in recognition of his victory.{{cite web|date=13 August 2024 |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240813-flags-and-dancing-as-botswana-welcomes-home-olympic-gold-1 |title=Flags and dancing as Botswana welcomes home Olympic gold |publisher=France 24 |access-date=14 August 2024}}

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.{{Cite web |title=Jesse Owens Rising Star Award: Letsile Tebogo |url=https://www.diamondleague.com/news/general/jesse-owens-rising-star-award-letsile-tebogo/ |access-date=2024-12-03 |website=IDL Diamond League |language=en-US}}

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.{{Cite news |date=30 Oct 2024 |title=Julien Alfred and Letsile Tebogo lead Association of National Olympic Committees 2024 awards |url=https://olympics.com/en/news/julien-alfred-letsile-tebogo-anoc-awards-winners-complete-listympic-committees-2024-awards |work=Olympics.com}}

In December 2024, Tebogo was named World Athletics Male Athlete of the Year.{{cite web|url=https://worldathletics.org/awards/news/hassan-tebogo-world-athletics-awards-2024|title=Hassan and Tebogo named World Athletes of the Year|website=World Athletics|date=1 December 2024|access-date=2 December 2024}} 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.{{Cite web |title=MSN |url=https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/letsile-tebogo-botswana-sprinter-wins-male-athlete-of-the-year-after-impressive-olympics-performance/ar-AA1v4Xp6 |access-date=2024-12-03 |website=www.msn.com}}

In April 2025, Olympic champion Tebogo was appointed as the Kids’ Athletics Day 2025 ambassador by World Athletics.{{Cite web |last=Admin |first=Runnerstribe |date=2025-04-03 |title=World Athletics Appoints Olympic Champion Tebogo as Kids' Athletics Day 2025 Ambassador |url=https://runnerstribe.com/latest-news/world-athletics-appoints-olympic-champion-tebogo-as-kids-athletics-day-2025-ambassador/ |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=Runner's Tribe |language=en-AU}}

Achievements

=Personal bests=

class="wikitable" ! Distance	Time (s)	Wind	Location	Date	Notes
100 meters \|style="text-align:center;"\|9.86 \| +1.0 m/s \|Paris, France \|August 4, 2024 \|{{AthAbbr\|NR\|Botswana}}
200 meters \|style="text-align:center;"\|19.46 \| \|Paris, France \|August 8, 2024 \|{{AthAbbr\|NR\|Botswana}}, {{AthAbbr\|AR\|African}}
300 meters \|style="text-align:center;"\|30.69 \| \|Pretoria, South Africa \|February 17, 2024 \|{{AthAbbr\|WB}}
400 meters \|style="text-align:center;"\|44.29 \| \|Pretoria, South Africa \|March 18, 2024 \|
colspan=6\|Youth and junior achievements
\|100 meters \|style="text-align:center;"\|9.91 \| +0.8 m/s \|Cali, Colombia \|August 2, 2022 \|World under-20 record
\|200 meters \|style="text-align:center;"\|19.96 \| -1.0 m/s \|Cali, Colombia \|August 4, 2022 \|{{AthAbbr\|AU20R\|African}}

class="wikitable"

! Distance

Time (s)

Wind

Location

Date

Notes

100 meters

|style="text-align:center;"|9.86

| +1.0 m/s

|Paris, France

|August 4, 2024

|{{AthAbbr|NR|Botswana}}

200 meters

|style="text-align:center;"|19.46

|Paris, France

|August 8, 2024

|{{AthAbbr|NR|Botswana}}, {{AthAbbr|AR|African}}

300 meters

|style="text-align:center;"|30.69

|Pretoria, South Africa

|February 17, 2024

|{{AthAbbr|WB}}

400 meters

|style="text-align:center;"|44.29

|Pretoria, South Africa

|March 18, 2024

colspan=6|Youth and junior achievements

|100 meters

|style="text-align:center;"|9.91

| +0.8 m/s

|Cali, Colombia

|August 2, 2022

|World under-20 record

|200 meters

|style="text-align:center;"|19.96

| -1.0 m/s

|Cali, Colombia

|August 4, 2022

|{{AthAbbr|AU20R|African}}

=International competitions=

rowspan=3|2021

|World Relays

|Chorzów, Poland

|13th (h)

|4 × 100 m relay

|39.55

|{{AthAbbr|SB}}

rowspan=2|World U20 Championships

|rowspan=2|Nairobi, Kenya

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|100 m

|10.19

bgcolor=silver|2nd

|200 m

|20.38

rowspan=5|2022

|rowspan=2|African Championships

|rowspan=2|Saint Pierre, Mauritius

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|200 m

|20.26

– (f)

|4 × 100 m relay

|{{AthAbbr|DQ}}

World Championships

|Eugene, OR, United States

|16th (sf)

|100 m

|10.17

|(h: {{AthAbbr|WU20R}} {{AthAbbr|NR|Botswana}} {{refn|group=note|In the heats Tebogo set a world under-20 and national record with a time of 9.94 seconds.}})

rowspan=2|World U20 Championships

|rowspan=2|Cali, Colombia

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|100 m

|9.91

|{{AthAbbr|CR}} {{AthAbbr|WU20R}} {{AthAbbr|NR|Botswana}}

bgcolor=silver|2nd

|200 m

|19.96

|{{AthAbbr|CR}}

rowspan=2|2023

|rowspan=2|World Championships