Almost a year after his historic Olympic triumph, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo has opened up about the deeper motivation behind his gold medal run in the men’s 200m at the 2024 Paris Olympics, telling Al Jazeera in a recent interview that it was always his mission to disrupt the long-standing American and Jamaican dominance in the event.
“That’s always been my goal,” the 21-year-old sprint star said. “To snap their dominance. It was sad to see only two nations rule the sport for decades. I wanted to make a breakthrough for African athletes. I aspired to be the one to make it happen and then take in the world’s response. And that reaction has been heartwarming.”
Tebogo won the 200m title in Paris with a dazzling 19.46 seconds, a new African record and personal best, defeating a world-class field that included American Kenny Bednarek, who finished second in 19.62, and reigning world champion Noah Lyles, who took bronze in 19.70. The win made Tebogo the first African athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in the men’s 200m, rewriting a chapter of Olympic history long defined by American and Jamaican icons.
Since Jamaica’s Donald Quarrie won gold in Montreal in 1976, the Olympic 200m has been almost exclusively the domain of sprinters from Jamaica and the United States. Americans dominated the event in the 1980s and 1990s, with Carl Lewis taking gold in 1984, followed by Joe DeLoach in 1988, Michael Marsh in 1992, and Michael Johnson, who won in 1996 with a then-world record time of 19.32 seconds. Shawn Crawford added to the U.S. legacy with his win in Athens in 2004. Then came Usain Bolt, who ushered in a new era of Jamaican sprint supremacy, capturing three consecutive Olympic titles in 2008, 2012, and 2016 before retiring after the 2017 World Championships.
-World Athletics
Only three men outside of those two sprinting powerhouses had managed to interrupt that grip on the Olympic 200m title—Pietro Mennea of Italy in Moscow 1980, Kostantinos Kenteris of Greece in Sydney 2000, and Andre De Grasse of Canada in Tokyo 2021—until Tebogo’s breakthrough last summer.
While African athletes have long been dominant in middle- and long-distance events, success in the sprints has been rare. Tebogo believes that disparity is due, in part, to a lack of infrastructure and broader support for sprint development across the continent.
“It’s mostly down to infrastructure and support, but I am not entirely sure,” he admitted. “However, I can see that Africa is looking towards investing in its athletes beyond distance running. Once the governments are on board, it makes a massive difference to the sport.”
In Botswana, his win has already begun to shift the mindset of young athletes, inspiring a new wave of ambition.
“It’s still early days but I’ve definitely seen athletes shed a layer of self-doubt. They are no longer afraid of coming forward to showcase their talent,” Tebogo said. “I hope the new [Botswana] government will take the next step and help these athletes.”
Looking to the future, the Olympic champion hopes his legacy will open the floodgates for other African sprinters to rise.
“Africans are stepping up and we see an increased number of African athletes in global competitions,” he said. “I dream of an all-African lineup at the Olympics one day.”
With his lightning speed and unshakeable belief, Tebogo hasn’t just made history—he’s sparked a movement that could change the face of sprinting forever.