Losing your mother can never, ever be easy. And if that happens just weeks before the biggest moment of your career, it can easily unnerve you for the rest of your life. But ever since Botswanan sprinter Letsile Tebogo lost his mother in May, it seems like he has become even more fixated on making every opportunity count to honor her memory. But even the Olympic gold medalist can’t always outrun the emotions that lurk silently within.

On August 30, Tebogo added yet another feather to his illustrious hat as he won the men’s 100m dash at the Rome Diamond League clocking 9.87 seconds. However, it wasn’t all pristine inside his head, as the sprinter revealed during the post-race interview. In a YouTube upload from August 31 by Citius Mag, Tebogo can be heard talking about how he faced a hard time before getting onto the tracks at the Italian capital.

Noting how he still misses his mother Seratiwa Tebogo, Letsile said, “I had too many mental breakdowns few hours before the race. I tried to keep positive, I tried to keep everything positive.” His mental state also impacted his physical condition and Tebogo confessed that it didn’t feel like he was at the top of his game in Rome. His inner turmoil got so great ahead of the race that Tebogo had to mediate to get a grip on himself for the race. “I told myself: If I have a perfect start I know I could beat everybody else,” Tebogo claims to have made himself understand what was at stake.

Considering he defeated three-time World Championships gold medalist Christian Coleman in the race, fans can say Letsile did a stellar job in Rome. But hidden from the public gaze, the Olympian was struggling inside. “I just missed my mom,” Tebogo was heard saying in the interview with pain in his eyes, but he couldn’t let it get in his way.

“I think it affected me so bad, but I tried to keep positive…I just made calm in my corner thought over it and then just let it go,” the African athlete asserted on how he pushed himself to victory despite the adversity. But he has yet to come to terms with living and competing in a world where his mother isn’t around anymore to cheer for him from the stands.

Letsile Tebogo’s mother’s memory is never too far from his thoughts

Seratiwa passed away after losing the long and difficult battle against breast cancer just months before the 2024 Olympic Games. Naturally, Letsile was devastated. But remembering how his mother was always his biggest cheerleader, the runner wanted to make sure he gave her the proper send-off by winning as many races as he possibly could. So started Letsile’s quest to keep adding more medals to his cupboard to show gratitude to his mother who stood by him every step of the way. At the Monaco Diamond League, Tebogo won the men’s 200m race just days before the Paris Games. He then went on to repeat the feat on the grandest stage, defeating American stars like Kenny Bednarek and the emphatic Noah Lyles. Becoming the first African runner to win gold in the event, Letsile was elated by his feat, and he made sure his mother was there with him as he ran the race with her birth date on his spikes.

Ahead of the Rome Diamond League, Tebogo even got the chance to meet with the Pope, and the thought of his late mom was a constant thing on his head even then. “I am sure that my mother is happy, she was a woman of faith,” he said about his meeting with Pope Francis. He also couldn’t help but reminisce how Seratiwa gave her life so he could pursue his dream of becoming an Olympic athlete. “Sport and my mother’s infinite love allowed me to realize everything in life, even up to Olympic gold,” stated the Botswanan star.

But will this inner drive and determination make Letsile Tebogo one of the greatest sprinters of all time? What do you think? Tell us with a comment!