Tebogo targets triumph on home turf as he opens 200m season

It’s fitting that Letsile Tebogo’s first race of the season over 200m, the distance at which he won Olympic gold last year, will come on home soil at the FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Gaborone on Saturday 12 April.

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Tebogo has raced a handful of times already this year, all over 400m, topped by a 45.26 clocking in Melbourne at the end of March. But he’s far more at home over 200m, especially when being cheered on by thousands of adoring fans who’ll be keen to see their star athlete in action.

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It was at this competition in 2023 where Tebogo – still aged just 19 at the time – set a meeting record of 19.87. He went on to reduce that to 19.50 just three months later, then capped his season by taking world bronze in Budapest.

It was in 2024, however, when Tebogo achieved superstardom, taking Olympic gold in Paris with an African record of 19.46 and then following it with silver in the 4x400m, clocking one of the fastest relay splits in history (43.04).

Given it’s still in the early stages of what will be a long season, culminating with the World Championships in Tokyo in September, Tebogo won’t be looking to break any records any time soon.

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But he hopes to put in a winning performance in front of his home crowd as he takes on a field that includes Olympic relay teammate Collen Kebinatshipi, 19.82 performer Luxolo Adams of South Africa and Jamaica’s Tyquendo Tracey.

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By World Athletics