Letsile Tebogo has consistently shattered records throughout his illustrious career. During his stint in the French capital, the Botswanan stunned everyone with his upset win over Noah Lyles in the 200m. Amid the roaring cheers from the stands, the 21-year-old sprinted past the finish line in 19.46 seconds. Apart from winning his nation’s first Olympic gold medal, the sprinter also decimated the previous African record. While the American was nowhere close to Bolt’s, it sparked something in the 21-year-old.

The Olympian replicated a similar result at the Silesia Diamond League. He was against known faces like Kenny Bednarek, Erriyon Knighton, Kyree King, and more. However, the Botswanan’s chances of winning again looked momentarily bleak due to a poor start off the blocks. Undeterred, he powered through the track and eventually claimed yet another victory in 19.83 seconds. With this, he had successfully shattered the meet record. Letsile Tebogo also contested the Lausanne Diamond League on August 22.

Unsurprisingly, he won the 200m event in an impressive 19.64 seconds. However, the 21-year-old had his sights set on claiming the world record as his own—19.19 seconds. He couldn’t do it in Paris, and he couldn’t do it in Lausanne. In his post-race interview on August 25, the sprinter mentioned, “I don’t want that pressure on my shoulders.”. He further clarified, “I didn’t say I would break the world record. I said, it’s 10 meters away from me.” The Olympian believes that if it has to happen, it will. 

Even though he’s confident it can be done, Letsile Tebogo doesn’t want to put that kind of pressure on himself just yet. “It’s going to take a lot of courage for me to do that. I think a little bit rest up before we could attempt it again. So, it’s going to take a while.” However, he subtly hints at what he has in mind. “Maybe when the body feels good, when the weather is perfect in Brussels, that’s when we’ll see the time is going to be.” Will we see him attempt the WR at Brussels? 

The Botswanan further clarified, “I can’t put a date on when I’m going to break the world record because the moment I put the date, I’ve already put myself under pressure.” With three insane back-to-back competitions, we can see where he is coming from. We might not know when the Botswanan might go for Bolt’s record, but we might be in for a thrilling show in Brussels. However, many fans picked up on how his opinion was the same as Noah Lyles’.

Letsile Tebogo faced backlash over Usain Bolt’s record claim

Leading up to the Paris Olympics, Noah Lyles unabashedly claimed he was looking to shatter Usain Bolt’s records. However, Letsile Tebogo initially had a very different stance. “Take me out of that world record conversation because I don’t want that pressure… Let (Noah) Lyles speak about the world record.” But somewhere between Paris and Silesia, that mindset changed. In a post-race interview at Lausanne, the Botswanan boldly claimed, “I don’t think it will take me long to break the 200m World Record, it’s about 10 meters away from me.“ How did the masses take it?

Even though the sprinting legend’s coach, Glen Mills, believed that the Botswanan had what it takes, fans have harshly ridiculed the Olympian’s claim. “He has to go 19.31 and then 19.26 first to be talking 19.19.” Despite falling short of the first-place finish at Stade de France, Noah Lyles’s PB is far closer to the record than the numbers Tebogo has pulled. Fans also believe he might have bit off more than he could chew. But maybe the 21-year-old knows what he’s talking about. What do you think of the Olympian’s claim? Let us know in the comments!