Many were hoping that pre-race favorite Noah Lyles would clinch his first Olympic gold in the 200m at the Stade de France. But to everyone’s surprise, it was Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo who sprinted his way to the finish in 19.46 seconds. Even though he etched his name in the history books by claiming the nation’s first ever Olympic gold medal, a second-place finish days later in the 4x400m race leaves him reeling. Putting this behind him, he competed in the Lausanne Diamond League on August 22.

How did he do? To no one’s surprise, the Olympian blazed past his competitors in a stellar time of 19.64 seconds. In his post-race interview, he opens up about what it’s like to return to the DL. “It was a great race for me here today in Lausanne, to be able to return here the following year is very cool to me,” he stated.

The Botswanan continued, “I think the most important thing for me is that even after such achievements like the ones I did at the Olympics, at the end of the day, you just have to keep running to maintain the form throughout the season.” There’s no doubt that he turned heads at the French capital. But the sprinter didn’t want to bask in that glory for too long. On August 22, Tebogo replicated the same outcome by holding on to a steady lead.

America’s Erriyon Knighton trailed past the finish line moments after him with a season-best of 19.78 seconds. Fred Kerley followed after and completed the podium with 19.86 seconds. “So that being done here in Athletissima, I’m satisfied.” It looks like the Botswanan is looking forward to continuing his winning streak, and we’re excited to see where this takes him!

Letsile Tebogo’s impressive form at Stade de France

On August 8th, Letsile Tebogo showcased his peak form by dominating the 200m dash. Quick off the blocks, he held on to a solid lead. Bednarek trailed behind in 19.62 seconds, having to settle for yet another Olympic silver. Lyles completed the podium in 19.70 seconds on the clock, facing the same fate he did at the Japanese capital 3 years ago. While this would be enough reason to celebrate, the 21-year-old was back on the tracks for the 4x400m relay.

Team Botswana were hoping to claim an Olympic gold. They wanted to redeem themselves from their third-place finish in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games. But much to their dismay, they had to settle for silver instead. Tebogo and Benjamin crossed the finish line in a stellar time of 2:54. But both teams’ time had a difference of 0:00:10 seconds. This meant Team USA had claimed an Olympic gold and set a new Olympic record! 

What’s impressive is the 21-year-old ran the second-fastest split of 43.04 seconds, but it wasn’t enough. Recalling what winning the silver was like, Tebogo expressed, “Everybody was shocked at the 4x400m the following day. That’s the only crazy thing I can think of.” He was bombarded with calls and asked, “How do you run an African record yesterday and then the following day you still split the fastest time?” He stated how it was “really crazy.” Do you agree with Letsile Tebogo?