Letsile Tebogo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids

OLY

Tebogo at the 2024 African Championships in Athletics
Personal information
Nickname(s)	School-boy
Nationality	Botswana
Born	(2003-06-07) 7 June 2003 (age 22) Kanye, Botswana
Height	1.84 m
Weight	77 kg
Sport
Country	Botswana
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Sprints
Team	Nike
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	100 m: 9.86 NR (Paris 2024) 200 m: 19.46 AR (Paris 2024) 300 m: 30.69 WB (Pretoria 2024) 400 m: 44.29 (Pretoria 2024)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Botswana Olympic Games Gold 2024 Paris 200 m Silver 2024 Paris 4 × 400 m relay World Championships Silver 2023 Budapest 100 m Bronze 2023 Budapest 200 m World Relays Gold 2024 Nassau 4 × 400 m relay African Championships Gold 2022 Saint Pierre 200 m World U20 Championships Gold 2021 Nairobi 100 m Gold 2022 Cali 100 m Silver 2021 Nairobi 200 m Silver 2022 Cali 200 m

Letsile Tebogo (born 7 June 2003) is a super fast runner from Botswana. He is famous for winning the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the 200 metres race. This was a huge moment because it was the first-ever Olympic gold medal for Botswana!

Letsile also won a silver medal in the 100 metres at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. A few days later, he earned a bronze medal in the 200 metres at the same event. He is known for being a very talented young athlete.

He won the 100 metres and came second in the 200 metres at both the 2021 and 2022 World Athletics Under-20 Championships. In 2021, he became the first athlete from Botswana to win a 100 m title at any World Championships. He also became the youngest winner of the 200 metres title at the 2022 African Championships in Athletics. In February 2024, he set a new world best time for the 300 metres race.

Letsile Tebogo has held the world record for under-20 athletes in the 100 m since April 2022. He was also the first man from Botswana to run the 100 m race in under 10 seconds.

Letsile's Amazing Career Highlights

Starting His Journey in Athletics

Letsile Tebogo started competing internationally when he was just 17 years old. His first big event was the 2021 World Athletics Relays in Poland in May 2021. Later that year, in August, he went to the World Under-20 Championships in Kenya. There, he won the 100 metres race and came in second in the 200 metres.

Breaking Records and Making History

On February 19, 2022, when he was 18, Letsile set a new national record for Botswana in the 100 m race. He ran it in 10.08 seconds. Just two months later, he became the first man from Botswana to run the 100 m in under 10 seconds, finishing in 9.96 seconds. This also set a new world record for under-20 athletes!

He kept getting faster. In July 2022, he improved his record to 9.94 seconds at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in the United States. The next month, he broke his own record again, running the 100 m in 9.91 seconds at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Colombia. During that race, he celebrated a bit early, which reminded many people of the famous sprinter Usain Bolt.

Olympic Gold and National Celebrations

On August 8, 2024, Letsile Tebogo won the 200 m final at the Paris Olympics. He finished in 19.46 seconds, winning the first-ever Olympic gold medal for Botswana! This was such a big deal that the government of Botswana declared a holiday on August 9 to celebrate his amazing win. They also gave him two houses as a reward for his victory.

Awards and Recognition

In September 2024, Letsile became the first male athlete to win the new Jesse Owens Rising Star Award. This award is given to young, talented athletes. In October 2024, he received the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) award for being the best male athlete at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

In December 2024, Letsile Tebogo was named the World Athletics Male Athlete of the Year. He also won the Male Track Athlete of the Year award. In April 2025, he was chosen as the ambassador for Kids’ Athletics Day 2025 by World Athletics, helping to inspire young athletes around the world.

Letsile's Best Times

Here are some of Letsile Tebogo's fastest times in different races:

Letsile's International Medals

Letsile Tebogo has won many medals at big competitions around the world:

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 )
	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
2024	World Relays	Nassau, Bahamas	1st	4 × 400 m relay	2:59.11
	Olympic Games	Paris, France	6th	100 m	9.86	NR
			1st	200 m	19.46	AR
			2nd	4 × 400 m relay	2:54.53	AR

See also

In Spanish: Letsile Tebogo para niños

• List of Botswana records in athletics