While it was Letsile Tebogo who made headlines for winning Botswana’s first medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Thursday night, back home it was his departed parent who received tribute from government.
When addressing Parliament today, Youth, Sport, Gender and Culture minister Tumiso Rakgare poured heartfelt accolades to the late Seratiwa Tebogo, Letsile’s mother. The minister’s address was in reaction to the historic achievement by Letsile at the Olympic Games, which are currently underway in France. He said Seratiwa gave her son unwavering support and cheerleading during races, from travelling with him around the world to managing his diet and character. “She dedicated her life to making sure that her son, our diamond, understood what it meant to be an elite athlete, both on and off track. Seratiwa was born in 1980, the year of our first participation in the Olympic Games,” Rakgare said.
“Since then and until her untimely passing, a few months ago, Botswana had never won an Olympic gold medal, and now in the year of her passing, her son has gifted us one.” He said looking into the future, Letsile’s victory serves as a beacon of hope and inspiration for the next generation of athletes, artists and leaders. Rakgare added for his exceptional performance, the athlete is entitled to receive from government, P250, 000 for winning a gold medal, P25, 000 for the top eight finish in the 100m race, and P50, 000 for setting an African record in the 200m race.
Equally, government will gift Letsile a housing unit at a place of his choice in Botswana for the podium finish. The Olympic champion will also receive P1 million and P2, 500 worth of groceries for 12 months from Choppies. In addition, Letsile received P30, 000 qualification bonus, P8, 333.33 monthly stipend since his qualification and the P5, 000 appearance fee, all of which have been paid.
