Letsile Tebogo brought joy and jubilation to the nation when he won Botswana’s first medal this past Sunday at the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
He becomes the first African athlete to ever win a 100m World Athletics Championships medal of any kind since its inception in 1983. Meanwhile, this is the second medal for the country at the World Athletics Championships. The first medal at this stage was won by Amantle Montsho (gold) in the women’s 400m at the 2012 Daegu, China championships.
Tebogo (20) registered 9.88s to scoop the second position setting a new national record in the process. The World champion is Noah Lyles of the USA after blistering away from the pack to win a gold medal with a world lead (WL) 9.83 and a personal best (PB).
The silver medal sees Tebogo smiling all the way to the bank after pocketing US$35, 000 which is around P475,000. On day one of the competition, Tebogo won his heat with a slower time of 10.11, which brought doubt to some of his fans for a podium finish. However, the sprint sensation powered to a 9.98 in the semi-final to book a slot in the final.
Ahead of the semi-final, Tebogo had promised that he was changing his strategy, which he executed perfectly. The win is a confident booster for Tebogo as he prepares for the 200m showdown against Lyles and his fellow country man, Erriyon Knighton.
The 200m heats get underway on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Sunday was also a good day on the track for 400m local runners, Bayapo Ndori, Leungo Scotch and Collen Kebinatshipi. Ndori sailed to victory in his heat with a time of 44.72, while Kebinatshipi progressed to the semi-final by registering 44.80 while Scotch made it through in 45.20. The men’s 400m semi-final is scheduled for tomorrow night (Tuesday 21:00 hrs).
