Tebogo became the first African to win the event when he ran 19.46 seconds to beat Americans, Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles, to claim Botswana’s first Olympic gold medal, and becoming the fifth fastest man in history in the 200m race. The Monitor and Mmegi team(s) accompanied by the Mmegi Online crew pulled up in front of the Tebogo’s home in Mmalekwa ward on Saturday afternoon. We visited last year when Letsile surprised the entire world by becoming the first African man to win a medal in the 100m at the World Athletics Championships. Letsile was the flagbearer for Team Botswana at the Paris 2024 Olympics. He competed in the 100m where he finished in position six, setting a new National Record (NR) of 9.96. He went on to anchor the men’s 4x400m to podium finish for a silver medal. To the Tebogo family, despite all his achievements, he remains their son. Letsile’s grandmother, Toro Tebogo, said Letsile has never been like other kids. He was quick to sit, quick to walk, and even quick to talk. “The name Letsile means ‘luck has arrived in our family’. We were so excited when he was born that there was so much joy. We prayed to God for blessings, that he achieves everything he wanted in life. He was always an active boy, always having something to do. When he was young, I couldn't pick that he was going to be a sprinter until he was at school. Now he is an Olympic champion, I am so excited,” said the proud grandmother.
Toro said when Letsile arrives back home, the first thing she will say to him is that he should remain humble. The grandmother said she hadn't spoken to her grandchild since he won the 200m medal, which doesn't worry her because he is in good hands. “Our family members including his sister travelled to Paris to support him. His mother always accompanied him in all international competitions,” she explained. His aunt, Boitseo Tebogo beams with a smile as she takes us on a memory lane, starting by saying that Letsile was a hyperactive child. “E ne ele letsetse (troublesome), always being called to order and he didn't stay in one place for long. When you reprimand him, he will do something else. He was a young boy, when he was here we never stopped shouting but he was entertaining,” she said. According to Boitseo, Letsile started his primary school at Segopotso in Kanye for one term but transferred to Lesedi Primary School in Gaborone. She said due to the challenges of the city lifestyle, his mother Seratiwa was occupied by her job and there was nobody to take care of Letsile after school. By then Boitseo was a teacher at Lefoko Primary School next to Maokane village. She revealed that one day during school competitions, one teacher, Wendy Mogwase instructed him to get on the track. “We weren't surprised by his speed but we were shocked by his ability to keep his lane from the beginning to the end. He then came to school at Kids Academy in Kanye, that is where he was active in athletics, including long and middle distance races,” she said. He was transferred to Gaborone to complete his primary education and did his junior secondary education at Gaborone West Junior Secondary School before heading to Gaborone Senior Secondary School. When he was still at primary school, the family travelled to Namibia to support him.
