It all started when the men’s 4x400m relay team clinched a bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The team comprising of Isaac Makwala, Baboloki Thebe, Zibane Ngozi and Bayapo Ndori clocked 2:58.33 during the heats to set a new Africa Record. They went on to set another African record in the final after clocking 2:57.27, which secured the country a bronze medal. The first ever Olympic medal in the relays category finally delivered some soothing news following a devastating period in which the country grappled with the COVID-19 Delta variant.
While the country was still celebrating the milestone reached by the team, the national Under-20 team also did wonders at the World Under-20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya. Team Botswana finished in position seven with three gold medals and one silver medal. Tebogo Letsile was the toast of the championships when he broke barriers and won the first ever gold medal in 100 metres for the country. Letsile also had a brilliant run in the 200m. He took silver behind Nigeria’s Udodi Onwuzurike in the 200m. He then set the national Under-20 records of 10.22 and 10.11 in the process. His 10.11 clocking broke the senior national record, surpassing Makwala’s former mark of 10.20 set seven years ago.
