Letsile Tebogo

Letsile Tebogo (Tswana pronunciation: [lɪt͡silɛ tɛbʊχo]; born 7 June 2003)^[3] 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.^[4]

Letsile Tebogo

OLY

Tebogo at the 2024 African Championships in Athletics
Personal information
Nickname	School-boy
Nationality	Botswana
Born	(2003-06-07) 7 June 2003 (age 22) 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	100 m: 9.86 NR (Paris 2024) 200 m: 19.46 AR (Paris 2024) 300 m: 30.69 WB (Pretoria 2024) 400 m: 44.29 (Pretoria 2024)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Botswana Olympic Games 2024 Paris 200 m 2024 Paris 4 × 400 m relay World Championships 2023 Budapest 100 m 2023 Budapest 200 m World Relays 2024 Nassau 4 × 400 m relay African Championships 2022 Saint Pierre 200 m World U20 Championships 2021 Nairobi 100 m 2022 Cali 100 m 2021 Nairobi 200 m 2022 Cali 200 m

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.^[5]

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.^[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 100 m 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 100 m and 200 m world records holder Usain Bolt.^[10]

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.^[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 5000 m gold medalist Jakob Ingebrigtsen.^[17]

In April 2025, Olympic champion Tebogo was appointed as the Kids’ Athletics Day 2025 ambassador by World Athletics.^[18]

Achievements

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

Representing  Botswana

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

• Diamond League

• 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)
• 2025: Doha Diamond League (200 m), Prefontaine Classic (200 m)

• World Athletics Continental Tour

• 2023: Botswana Golden Grand Prix (200 m)
• 2024: Grand Prix Lombardia Brescia (200 m)
• 2025: Botswana Golden Grand Prix (200 m)

See also

• List of Botswana records in athletics

Notes

1. In the heats Tebogo set a world under-20 and national record with a time of 9.94 seconds.