Letsile Tebogo

Summary

Letsile Tebogo /lɪt͡silɛ tɛbʊho/ Lee-tsi-leh Te-boo-hoh (born 7 June 2003)[1] is a Botswana sprinter. He achieved the silver medal at the 2023 World Championships in the 100 m and followed it up with a bronze medal in the 200 m 5 days later.[2] Tebogo won in the 100 metres and placed second in the 200 metres at both the 2021 and 2022 World Athletics Under-20 Championships. In 2021, Tebogo became the first Botswana athlete to claim the 100m title at any World Championships level. He is the 200m 2022 African champion, becoming the youngest winner of this title in competition history. Tebogo broke the 300m world best, running a time of 30.69 seconds on February 17, 2024 at altitude in Pretoria, South Africa.[3]

Letsile Tebogo
Personal information
NicknameSchool-boy
NationalityMotswana
Born (2003-06-07) 7 June 2003 (age 20)
Kanye, Botswana
EmployerNike
Height1.84 m (6 ft 12 in)
Weight72 kg (159 lb)
Sport
CountryBotswana
SportAthletics
EventSprints
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Botswana
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2023 Budapest 100 m
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Budapest 200 m
African Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Saint Pierre 200 m
World U20 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2021 Nairobi 100 m
Gold medal – first place 2022 Cali 100 m
Silver medal – second place 2021 Nairobi 200 m
Silver medal – second place 2022 Cali 200 m

Tebogo held the world U20 record in the 100m between April 2022 and July 2023. He was the first man from Botswana to break the 10-second barrier.

Career edit

Letsile Tebogo gained his first international experience at the age of 17 at the 2021 World Athletics Relays held in May in Chorzów, Poland.[1] In August, he competed at the World Under-20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, winning the 100 metres and finishing second in the 200 metres.[1]

On 19 February 2022, the 18-year-old set a new national record in the 100m at the Botswana Athletics Championships with a time of 10.08 seconds.[4] Two months later, he became the first man from Botswana to break the 10-second barrier at the event as he clocked a time of 9.96 seconds at the Gaborone International Meet, setting a new world under-20 record.[5] On 15 July, he further improved his record in his debut race at the World Athletics Championships held in Eugene, Oregon, with a time of 9.94 seconds. The following month, Tebogo broke his own record again, clocking a 9.91 second performance in the final of the World U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia.[6][7] At the end of the race he celebrated early, drawing comparisons to 100m and 200m world records holder Usain Bolt.[8]

Achievements edit

Personal bests edit

Distance Time (s) Wind Location Date Notes
100 meters 9.88 0.0 m/s Budapest, Hungary August 20, 2023 NR
200 meters 19.50 +1.6 m/s London, Great Britain July 23, 2023 NR, AR
300 meters 30.69 Pretoria, South Africa February 17, 2024 WB
400 meters 44.29 Pretoria, South Africa March 18, 2024
Youth and junior achievements
100 meters 9.91 +0.8 m/s Cali, Colombia August 2, 2022 World under-20 record
200 meters 19.96 -1.0 m/s Cali, Colombia August 4, 2022 AU20R


International competitions edit

Representing   Botswana
Year Competition Venue Position Event Time Notes
2021 World Relays Chorzów, Poland 13th (h) 4 × 100 m relay 39.55 SB
World U20 Championships Nairobi, Kenya 1st 100 m 10.19
2nd 200 m 20.38
2022 African Championships Saint Pierre, Mauritius 1st 200 m 20.26
– (f) 4 × 100 m relay DQ
World Championships Eugene, OR, United States 16th (sf) 100 m 10.17 (h: WU20R NR [note 1])
World U20 Championships Cali, Colombia 1st 100 m 9.91 CR WU20R NR
2nd 200 m 19.96 CR
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 2nd 100 m 9.88 NR
3rd 200 m 19.81

Circuit wins and titles edit

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ In the heats Tebogo set a world under-20 and national record with a time of 9.94 seconds.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Letsile TEBOGO – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  2. ^ "USA's Noah Lyles wins 100m world title as Hughes seals bronze for GB". The Guardian. The Associated Press. 20 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Tebogo breaks world 300m best with 30.69 in Pretoria | REPORT | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  4. ^ Kolantsho, Calistus (21 February 2022). "Letsile sets new 100m record". Mmegi Online. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  5. ^ "World U20 sprint records fall as Knighton runs 19.49 and Tebogo clocks 9.96". World Athletics. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Tebogo runs 9.91 world U20 record to claim 100m crown in Cali". World Athletics. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Spotlight on Rising Stars: Kerrica Hill and Letsile Tebogo". World Athletics. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  8. ^ "Tebogo draws Bolt comparisons after showboating to junior record". Reuters. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.

External links edit

Records
Preceded by Men's under-20 world record holder
100 meters

30 April 2022 – present
Incumbent
Preceded by World best performances, 300 metres
17 February 2024 – present
Incumbent