Letsile Tebogo Is The First African To Win An Olympic 200m Medal In 28 Years

Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo made history in the final of the men’s 200m event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games by becoming the first African to win a medal in the event in 28 years.

The last time an African won a medal in the event was during the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games in the USA, when Namibian sprinter Frankie Fredericks finished second to win a silver medal in the final as legendary sprinter Michael Johnson won the gold medal. Trinidad and Tobago’s Ato Boldon finished third to win bronze in the event.

Tebogo, 21, also became the first African to win a gold medal in the men’s 200m event in the history of the Olympic Games.

Related: D’Tigress Records Historic Olympic Win Against Canada

He is the first athlete to win an Olympic gold for Botswana, and his country recognizes how important the win was by declaring a half-day public holiday to celebrate Tebogo’s achievement.

“I’m the Olympic champion; it’s something I have never seen in my life or dreamt of—it is an amazing moment,” Tebogo told reporters after the final.

“I just came here with the little that I had in me to push through because yesterday we made it to the final, and my coach told me, ‘Now it’s your race.’

“I knew Kenny was going to run away, so I made sure just to close him down. I have that top-end speed that will allow me to finish the race without getting tired, so that’s what I did, and when I saw Kenny fade, I knew Noah was far, far away behind us, so that means I’m the Olympic champion.

“It means a lot for everybody, the country, the continent, and my family.”

Letsile Tebogo beat the American duo of Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles to win the final race in 19.46 seconds, becoming the fifth-fastest man in the history of the 200m event.

At the age of 21, Tebogo became the youngest 200-meter champion in history since Bobby Morrow, who won the title at the age of 21 during the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia.