Botswana's first Olympic honour came through Nijel Amos’ silver medal during the London 2012 edition. The next medal followed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics when the men’s 4x400m relay team brought home a bronze medal. Now, with a new generation of athletes, the nation has every reason to be optimistic of a third and even fourth Olympic medal. Attention will certainly be on 21-year-old World Championships silver medallist, Letsile Tebogo, who will compete in the men’s 100m and 200m races. He is also expected to boost the men’s 4x400m relay team after a two-day break. It will not be an easy path to the podium as he faces stiff competition from Jamaican Kishane Thompson (9.77), Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala (9.79), American Noah Lyles (9.81), Jamaican Oblique Seville (9.82), South African Benjamin Richardson (9.86), and his compatriot Akani Simbine who has also clocked 9.86.
Tebogo has further challenges from two other Americans, Kenneth Bednarek (9.87), who is also a Tokyo 2020 Olympics 200m silver medallist, and Fred Kerley, who posted 9.88. Tebogo finished third during the London Diamond League where he set a new National Record (NR) of 9.88. He equalled the record he set in Budapest when he earned silver. He will be making his Olympics debut with the men’s 100m heat tomorrow. Tebogo’s coach, Kebonyemodisa ‘Dose’ Mosimanyane told MmegiSport that the goal is to try and make the finals in both the 100m and 200m. “We want to make the finals in both events as this is Tebogo’s first Olympics. Preparations for the competition went well.
