The 2024 track and field season delivered a ton of action to the audience until the very last official event on the calendar. Major athletes like Noah Lyles, Letsile Tebogo, and others were crowned as the Olympic champions while keeping up with their rivalries with a pinch of drama here and there. However, the Botswanan athlete defeated Lyles for a second time in the season, but it’s off-track this time, as he won the World Athletics Male Track Athlete of the Year award.

It is a significant milestone in Tebogo’s career; he made it to the top of the sport while being just 21 years old. However, this particular accolade has further credited another achievement to his stellar career, where he has left his rival Lyles again, and also a legend like Usain Bolt.

Defeating Noah Lyles for a second time

When World Athletics officially announced Letsile Tebogo as the Male Track Athlete of the Year winner, it caused a divide between the fans of the Botswanan and those who supported Noah Lyles. Both of these excellent sprinters fought on two occasions, which were the men’s 100m and the 200m in Paris. However, while the American athlete won his career-first gold medal in the 100m, Tebogo dominated the 200m, winning his first gold medal of his career. Both of them provided a ton of action throughout the year, and even though whatever the results were, it was a good season overall.

The award was also handed out to the 21-year-old in Monte Carlo on 1 December, as it has become an annual tradition since 1988. However, this wasn’t the sole achievement for Tebogo at the venue. The Botswanan athlete tied Great Britain’s Steve Backley’s record of being the youngest to win this accolade. Backley secured his own Male Athlete of the Year award back in 1990, but no one has ever achieved this feat at such a young age since then until the current season.

In this process, Tebogo also beat Usain Bolt, who has secured this title six times in his career but never became the youngest one to do so. The whole campaign for Tebogo has been an emotional roller coaster, as he has proved what he can do several times in the season. Furthermore, he also stopped Lyles from winning this accolade for the second time in a row. Since early 2024, the moment the Botswanan sprinter touched the track, he showed everyone a glimpse of what was going to come next with his performances, which included a world lead in the 200m and 400m and also a world record in the 300m.

However, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Tebogo, as his whole world crumbled when he lost his mother, Seritawa, to breast cancer on May 18 at the age of 43. While accepting such a fate wasn’t straightforward for the athlete, he didn’t deviate from his goal, as this loss triggered the spark inside him to bring that gleaming Olympic gold, which he eventually achieved in the French capital. All of the events led him to complete one of his best campaigns in the sport yet, and the moment he got his latest award, the announcement flabbergasted him.

Letsile Tebogo’s candid confession on the accolade

“This means a lot. It’s not just about the team that is around you; there are a lot of fans out there that really want us to win something great for the continent,” Tebogo said after receiving the World Athletics Male Track Athlete of the Year. He has worked hard this season, but he never expected the accolade to get etched into his name. There were plenty of other athletes who could’ve secured the title, but it went to the Botswanan sprinter, and it completely humbled him.

Tebogo’s win once again put the whole continent of Africa on the map, as many aspiring athletes in the region will get a confidence boost after watching one of their own on that top step of the sport. The Botswanan athlete showcased consistency the whole campaign, and eventually, it brought him one of the greatest accolades out there, due to his determination. However, Tebogo’s journey to become one of the greatest still depends on his upcoming seasons. He will be competing in the sport and more likely will be as challenging as he was in the 2024 campaign.