Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo has downplayed the euphoria of facing off with his fierce competitor, Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles at the Monaco Diamond League tomorrow.
Fresh off from recording a world lead with 19.76s over the weekend, Tebogo and Lyles are set to face off for the first time since the latter lost to Tebogo in the 200m Olympic final, back in 2024.
With social media frenzy over the face-off between the two athletes tomorrow, Tebogo has downplayed it, alluding that it is just another race.
“Honestly, tomorrow’s race, I am not expecting much because Eugene has shown that we are really on the right track,” Tebogo said.
“So, I believe tomorrow is just to get into that new world lead again because it’s a tough competition but I will go there to just enjoy the race,” he said.
Still on facing top athletes in the Diamond League, Tebogo said the tough line-ups just present him with an opportunity to prepare for the World Athletics Championships in September.
“Competing against the biggest names actually gets me ready for the championships,” he said.
Tebogo further said facing off with elite athletes ahead of the championships gives him an insight into the athletes' strengths and weaknesses as he prepares for the competition.
With questions rising if he will ditch the 100m for the 200m, Tebogo indicated that he cannot afford to do that for now.
“For now we can’t rule any race out but the main race for me now is 200m. But we are doing the 100m to see where we need to improve and add muscles, work on the body,” he said.
