Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo says he feels โenergisedโ as he aims to cap off his breakthrough season with a victory at the Diamond League finals in Brussels on Saturday.
The Botswana sprinter overcame the loss of his mother in May to secure a remarkable gold medal at the Paris Games, outperforming, among others, the Covid-affected favorite Noah Lyles.
Tebogo set a new African record with a time of 19.46 seconds, propelling him to fifth place on the all-time list.
He also made history as the first African to win the Olympic 200 meters.
He had announced himself on the global stage with a 100m silver and 200m bronze at the 2023 world championships in Budapest.
Since the Olympics in the French capital, the 21-year-old has won the 200m at Diamond League events in Lausanne, Silesia, Rome and Zurich, the latter in an outstanding 19.55sec in wet and cold conditions.
Tebogo insisted at a pre-finals press conference that he was just one of a raft of new faces jostling for prominence in building a new post-Usain Bolt era.
ย โPeople always have their own opinions about how you look at one particular person,โ Tebogo said. โFor me, I believe thereโs a new generation coming up.
ย โI believe weโve passed that (Bolt) era but we didnโt yet surpass his goals in track and field.โ
Boltโs former Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake holds the stadium record of 19.26sec in Brussels, set in 2011, something Tebogo said could be in danger.
ย โLooking at what I did in Zurich, no one thought that 19.5 was possible looking at the weather conditions,โ he said.
ย โI believe looking at the competition also, the stadium record is possible, but I donโt want to put myself under that pressure of chasing that stadium record.
ย โIf it comes, then it comes. All I can say is I feel fresh after all the runs Iโve been through and feel more energised than anything else.โ
The 200m showdown at the two-day finals, which draw a close to the elite 14-meet Diamond League circuit, also features Liberiaโs Joseph Fahnbulleh, alongside a trio of strong Americans in Kenny Bednarek, Erriyon Knighton and Fred Kerley.
Read Also: Sport Minister Says National Youth Games is a Beacon of Hope for the Revitalization of Sports
ย โItโs two Africans against the rest of the world,โ maintained Tebogo, who also finished sixth in the 100m final in Paris in 9.86sec. โI believe itโs going to be a good race!
ย โItโs a good thing to end the season with that winning streak, with that Olympic gold and Diamond League trophy.โ
Tebogo returned to a rapturous welcome in Gaborone after his Paris gold, Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi greeting the sprinter and other Olympic athletes after he had declared an impromptu half-day holiday.
ย โIt was a proud moment seeing the thousands of people waiting for me at the stadium,โ he said. โIt was amazing for me,โ added the sprinter whose mother Seratiwa died suddenly in May whilst Tebogo was away in the United States.
Having also been part of Botswanaโs 4x400m relay squad that won a thrilling silver in Paris, Tebogo acknowledged that a proper tilt as a one-lap runner is on the horizon.
โI have to get the job done in the 100m and then move up to the 400,โ Tebogo said, adding that he might take one season focused on the 400m after the 2025 world championships in Tokyo.
ย โMy favourite event is the 200m because itโs not as technical as the 100m โ thereโs a lot of work and focus on it and you cannot correct anything along the way.
ย โWith the 200m, you can fix mistakes and push your body to its maximum limits.โ