Botswana’s Leslie Tobogo won the men’s 200m gold of the Paris 2024 Olympics 19.46m a new African record.
The former African junior athlete upset the trio of American sprinters Kenneth Bednarek 19.62secs, Noah Lyles 19.70secs and Erriyon Knighton 19.99secs who were the favorites for the medals.
Tobogo with the win became the first African to the Olympics men 200m gold. Namibian Frankie Frederick won silver at the Barcelona 1992 Games.
Tebogo’s time saw him leapfrog American Erriyon Knighton to go fifth fastest in the all-time list. The gold was also Botswana’s first ever at an Olympics.
“It was really a beautiful race for me,” Tebogo said. “When we made it to the final, my coach just told me, ‘Now my job is done, it’s up to you to see what you can do. Whether it’s a medal or not, just finish the race healthy.’
“That’s all I could’ve wished for. I’m happy I finished the race healthier than before.”
Tebogo’s gold is even more impressive given that he lost his mother Seratiwa in May. His running shoes bear his late mother’s date of birth.
“It’s basically me carrying her through every stride that I take inside the field,” said the sprinter, who took a month off training and competition after her death.
“It gives me a lot of motivation. She’s watching up there, and she’s really, really happy. I didn’t want to put the date of her death, because I’ll get emotional.”
Tebogo added: “I’m really grateful for the team around me. They really pushed me through thick and thin.
“We had our ups and downs, but we just made sure that we pulled through and made it to the Olympics.”
Lyles who won the men’s 100m gold and was aim for a double blamed Covid 19 for the shortfall.
“I’ve had better days,” the American said. “I do have Covid. I tested positive around 5:00 am on Tuesday morning.
“I woke up in the middle of the night feeling chills, aching, sore throat.
“I knew it was more than just being sore from the 100. We woke up the doctors and we tested and unfortunately, it came up that I was positive for Covid.”
