Letsile TEBOGO

At the 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, he became the first athlete from Botswana to win gold in the 100m on a global stage. He also picked up a silver in the 200m.

The following year Tebogo set a new world U20 100m record by clocking 9.96 at the Gaborone International Meet, becoming just the second runner in history to break the 10-second barrier in the Under-20 age class.

That performance earned the youngster a ticket to the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Oregon, where he won the 100m silver and 200m bronze.

Letting his legs “do the talking” at Paris 2024

Tebogo arrived for his debut Olympics at Paris 2024 somewhat under the radar, which was likely fine by him.

“Athletes are all different, there’s the loud ones, there’s also the quiet ones,” Tebogo explained to Olympics.com in an exclusive interview.

“So I prefer being silent and just let the legs do the talking. I’ve always been a reserved person, so athletics won’t change the person I am.

“So I believe silence is the way.”

After placing sixth in the 100m on 4 August, few expected Tebogo to reach the podium in the 200m final. Noah Lyles was the favourite to complete the sprint double, having won the men’s 100m title just four days earlier.

Yet it was Tebogo who executed a sublime race, thundering home to win gold in 19.46 seconds.

Tebogo wasn’t finished, though, and two days later he won a silver medal as part of Botswana’s 4 x 400m relay team.

With two medals at his first Olympic Games, the sky is the limit for Botswana’s new star as the sporting world eagerly awaits his next performance.