Olympic sprinter Letsile Tebogo is a real-life hero! Tebogo, who received an award as men’s track athlete of the year, also won Botswana’s first Olympic gold medal in any sport when he zoomed through the 200m track at the Paris Games forging a new African record of 19.46. Recently, Tebogo sprang into action when torrential rains flooded Gaborone. With his trusty Toyota Land Cruiser, Tebogo pulled several waterlogged cars to dry land as water levels rose, wreaking havoc and engine malfunctions. But that’s not all!

On April 2, 2025, World Athletics announced Tebogo as an ambassador for its Kids’ Athletics initiative, a program designed to introduce young people to the sport through fun, accessible activities. The tweet said, “

World Athletics is proud to announce 🇧🇼‘s Olympic gold medallist and World Athlete of the Year 2024 @tebogo_letsile_ as an ambassador for its Kids’ Athletics programme, a global initiative that uses the power of athletics to inspire children across the world to be more active.” The honor comes on the heels of a stellar 2024 that saw him being crowned as World Athlete of the Year after a historic Olympic haul, plus a silver in the 4x400m relay and a bronze in the 100m at Paris 2024.

His resume also boasts a 100m silver from the 2023 World Championships, cementing his status as a multi-event phenom. Yet, it’s his off-track journey that makes this ambassadorship so fitting. Growing up in Kanye, a rural town in Botswana, Tebogo faced a grim reality. “

Sport has really helped me a lot because I think that, without it … probably I would be a criminal by now,” he revealed in an interview with Athletics Weekly.

Tebogo’s new role amplifies that redemption arc. Just after the announcement, he joined 1,000 children—including some from his old primary school—in Gaborone for a relay event, kicking off his mission to ignite their passion for sport. “

Athletics has given me so many opportunities, and I want to inspire young people to believe in themselves, dream big, and enjoy the sport,” he said in an Instagram post by World Athletics. His flood heroics earlier this year, captured in local lore, only deepen his appeal as a role model: a champion who runs fast and steps up faster.