.jpg) Tebogo at the2024 African Championships in Athletics | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
Nickname | School-boy |
| Nationality | Botswana |
| Born | (2003-06-07)7 June 2003 (age 22) |
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] |
| Weight | 77 kg (170 lb)[2] |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Botswana |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | Sprints |
| Team | Nike |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personalbests | |
Medal record | |
Letsile Tebogo (Tswana pronunciation:[lɪt͡silɛtɛbʊχo]; born 7 June 2003)[3] is aBotswana sprinter. He won the gold medal at the2024 Summer Olympics in the200 metres event, with his win earning thefirst-ever Olympic gold medal for Botswana. He also won the silver medal at the2023 World Championships in the100 m and followed it up with a bronze medal in the200 m five days later.[4]
Tebogo won in the100 metres and placed second in the200 metres at both the2021 and2022 World Athletics Under-20 Championships. In 2021, he became the first Botswana athlete to claim the 100 m title at any World Championships level. He is the 200 m2022 African champion, becoming the youngest winner of this title in competition history. He broke the300 m world best, running a time of 30.69 seconds on February 17, 2024 at altitude in Pretoria, South Africa.[5]
Tebogo has held theworld U20 record in the 100 m since April 2022. He was the first man from Botswana to break the10-second barrier.
Tebogo gained his first international experience at the age of 17 at the2021 World Athletics Relays held in May inChorzów, Poland.[3] In August, he competed at theWorld Under-20 Championships inNairobi, Kenya, winning the100 metres and finishing second in the200 metres.[3]
On 19 February 2022, the 18-year-old set a new national record in the 100 m at the Botswana Athletics Championships with a time of 10.08 seconds.[6] Two months later, he became the first man from Botswana to break the10-second barrier at the event as he clocked a time of 9.96 seconds at the Gaborone International Meet, setting a new world under-20 record.[7] On 15 July, he further improved his record in his debut race at theWorld Athletics Championships held inEugene, Oregon, with a time of 9.94 seconds. The following month, he broke his own record again, clocking a9.91 second performance in the final of theWorld U20 Championships inCali, Colombia.[8][9] At the end of the race he celebrated early, drawing comparisons to 100 m and 200 m world records holderUsain Bolt.[10]
On 8 August 2024, Tebogo won the 200 m final at theParis Olympics, earning the first-ever gold medal for Botswana with a time of 19.46s.[3][11] His victory led to a holiday being declared in Botswana to celebrate his feat on the afternoon of 9 August.[12] Thegovernment of Botswana also awarded him two houses in recognition of his victory.[13]
In September 2024, Tebogo became the first male winner of the newly inauguratedJesse Owens Rising Star Award at theWanda Diamond League Final in Brussel. The 21-year-old's 19.80 was the best performance of the final by a male athlete aged 23 or under, even though he did not win the final.[14]
In October 2024, for his historic achievement as an Olympic champion for Botswana, Tebogo received theAssociation of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) award for best male athlete of Paris 2024.[15]
In December 2024, Tebogo was named World AthleticsMale Athlete of the Year.[16]
In April 2025, Olympic champion Tebogo was appointed as the Kids’ Athletics Day 2025 ambassador byWorld Athletics.[17]
At the2025 World Athletics Championships, held in Tokyo, Japan, Tebogo was disqualified from the 100 metres final, after a false start.[18]
He then qualified for the 200 m final, where he finished fourth behindNoah Lyles,Kenneth Bednarek, andBryan Levell.
On September 21, running as the second leg, he contributed to Botswana's victory in the4 × 400 m relay, which won in 2 min 57 s 76.
| Distance | Time (s) | Wind | Location | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 meters | 9.86 | +1.0 m/s | Paris, France | August 4, 2024 | NR |
| 200 meters | 19.46 | +0.4 m/s | Paris, France | August 8, 2024 | NR,AR |
| 300 meters | 30.69 | Pretoria, South Africa | February 17, 2024 | WB | |
| 400 meters | 44.29 | Pretoria, South Africa | March 18, 2024 | ||
| Youth and junior achievements | |||||
| 100 meters | 9.91 | +0.8 m/s | Cali, Colombia | August 2, 2022 | World under-20 record |
| 200 meters | 19.96 | -1.0 m/s | Cali, Colombia | August 4, 2022 | AU20R |
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | World Relays | Chorzów, Poland | 13th (h) | 4 × 100 m relay | 39.55 | SB |
| World U20 Championships | Nairobi, Kenya | 1st | 100 m | 10.19 | ||
| 2nd | 200 m | 20.38 | ||||
| 2022 | African Championships | Saint Pierre, Mauritius | 1st | 200 m | 20.26 | |
| – (f) | 4 × 100 m relay | DQ | ||||
| World Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 16th (sf) | 100 m | 10.17 | (h:WU20RNR[note 1]) | |
| World U20 Championships | Cali, Colombia | 1st | 100 m | 9.91 | CRWU20RNR | |
| 2nd | 200 m | 19.96 | CR | |||
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 2nd | 100 m | 9.88 | NR |
| 3rd | 200 m | 19.81 | ||||
| 2024 | World Relays | Nassau, Bahamas | 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 2:59.11 | |
| Olympic Games | Paris, France | 6th | 100 m | 9.86 | NR | |
| 1st | 200 m | 19.46 | AR | |||
| 2nd | 4 × 400 m relay | 2:54.53 | AR | |||
| 2025 | World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | — | 100 m | DQ | False start |
| 4th | 200 m | 19.65 | ||||
| 1st | 4 × 400 m | 2:57.76 |
| Olympic Games | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Flag bearer for Botswana Paris 2024 with Maxine Egner | Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Records | ||
| Preceded by | Men's under-20 world record holder 100 meters 30 April 2022 – present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | World best performances,300 metres 17 February 2024 – present | Incumbent |
|
African Champions in men's200 metres | |
|---|---|
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