Quite not the follow-up you’d expect from an Olympic champ. After his stellar accomplishment in the French capital last month, fans expected Letsile Tebogo to repeat a similar feat at the Diamond League final in Brussels. However, the first-ever African sprinter to win the men’s 200m Olympic gold couldn’t tap into the reserves and was subdued by the USA’s Kenny Bednarek at the Belgian capital at the Memorial van Damme. But all isn’t bleak for the 21-year-old.

In the four Diamond League meets since the conclusion of the 33rd Olympics, Tebogo has bagged the top spot each time. Naturally, all these victories came with prize money and the Motswana has been raking in a lot of cash with each of his gold medals. A post on X by Mirth Molefe from September 14 reveals how fat Tebogo’s pockets have become in the weeks after the Paris Games. “Letsile Tebogo after getting second tonight in the diamond league finals after 4 consecutive number 1s in the series meetings, has amassed $52000 (P692k) in prize money,” says the post and attaches a screenshot of the cash prize amounts for top Diamond League finishers.

Naturally, Tebogo should be feeling jubilant with his achievements, and soon appeared online to share his glee over the matter. The sprinter replied to the OG post in his own native language, which translates to “This is what I can’t hide,” in English and it’s not too difficult to imagine the grin Tebogo must be sporting on his face right now. Since the 2024 Olympics commenced, it has been seven weeks, and Tebogo hasn’t finished first only the second time during the period.

In Paris, Tebogo couldn’t make a mark in the men’s 100m final but made up for it in style in the longer distance just four days later. Clocking a PB of 19.46, Letsile won gold upon the grandest stage by subduing the same person who defeated him in Brussels today. In the weeks following the Games, Tebogo maintained his winning streak and won every single 200m races across the world.

At the Lausanne Diamond League, Tebogo hauled gold after crossing the finishing line in 19.64 seconds and defeated the USA’s Erriyon Knighton in the process. Just three days later in Chorzow, Poland, Letsile repeated the feat in 19.83 seconds as Bednarek came in third. In the Rome and Zurich (the penultimate Diamond League meet of the year), too, the Motswana picked up the winning spot. In these four meets, only in Rome Tebogo ran in the 100m race, while all the other three triumphs came in the 200m. With each victory, the track star bagged $10,000 a cash prize and received an additional $12,000 for his latest victory in the year’s Diamond League final. All things considered, we believe Tebogo’s mom would be the proudest mother in the world right now.

Letsile Tebogo’s attempts to fill the void in his heart

Just a couple of months before the Paris Olympics, Tebogo lost his mom. Seratiwa Tebogo was the loudest cheerleader for her son’s professional career, and seldom missed a chance to see him race from the stands. On top of that, Seratiwa also made sure to give her child a good life despite the family struggling to make ends meet at times. Naturally, Letsile was devastated and had to take a break from training even with the shadow of the Paris Olympics looming large overhead. But she couldn’t have hoped for a better tribute. With the iconic Eiffel Tower as his witness, Tebogo ran a spectacular race in the 200m, defeating the likes of the enigmatic Noah Lyles. After his victory, Tebogo held up his spikes to show how he carried her birthday (23-12-1980) and her memory with him.

And now, as the 2022 African Championships gold medalist ends his 2024 Diamond League stint with an unexpected seond-place finish, we can’t help but imagine what he has in store for the coming days. Will the sprinter’s mother continue to provide him with the mental stamina to keep striving for greatness despite not being physically by his side anymore? Or will Tebogo turn to other sources to keep the fire burning in him? Share your thoughts with us!