Fitness
Running for a nation: How Letsile Tebogo became Botswana’s hero
Africa’s first Olympic sprint champion isn’t just rewriting record books – he’s showing what’s possible for a new generation of dreamers across his home country and beyond.
There are few athletes like Letsile Tebogo.
To begin with, the 22-year-old Botswana sprinter won the first-ever Olympic gold medal for Botswana at the 2024 Summer Olympics and has a career littered with even more records, firsts and impressive achievements – and more on that below.
Yes, he’s fast on the track. Yes, he's a generational great, inspiring would-be Batswana athletes to follow in his footsteps. In any other athlete, that would be enough, but Tebogo is more than that. He’s a hero, as focused on family and community as he is medals.
Case in point: When heavy floods hit Botswana in early 2025, Tebogo helped rescue stranded drivers, with videos of him driving through the waters going viral. When he isn’t doing that, he’s helping kids get into sport around the world.
This is the story of a man both deeply rooted in his community, while also being his nation’s most famous son, and, arguably, the best sprinter in the world.
This is the story of Letsile Tebogo.
01
Roots: It’s all about family values
Letsile Tebogo AKA ‘School Boy’ to his friends
© Miriam Lottes/Red Bull Content Pool
Growing up in Kanye, Botswana, Tebogo AKA ‘School Boy’ to his friends, wasn’t always necessarily destined for greatness.
“Home for me is Kanye, where the roots are and also where my grandma is,” Tebogo says, but while he maintains a strong focus on family, his childhood almost pulled him in a different direction.
“Where I was growing up in my teen years, I moved to the city where now I started to learn new things and make new friends,” Tebogo explains. “Some of those friends ended up getting engaged in unlawful things like stealing people's phones, so looking back at that now, it tells me that sport really saved me from that, because I just imagine what would've happened.”
Without sports in my life, I don’t even want to think where I would be
“Without sports in my life, I don’t even want to think where I would be,” Tebogo told World Athletics. “The neighbourhood that I was growing up in was very, very dangerous. I’m happy sport came in because there are a lot of youngsters who I know now are behind bars. Those are the same people that I used to hang around with.”
Tebogo was lucky enough to find an outlet in football and athletics as a child, but inspiration from an international legend helped keep him focused on sport, and away from the wrong side of the law.
“By the time I did that transition [from football to athletics], Usain Bolt – he was the hottest thing in the sport,” Tebogo says. “Even though he retired in 2017, it went on up to 2019 when we came in, we still knew that nobody could beat him. I wanted to be like him.”
02
Rise: Junior World Champion onwards
Tebogo's most recent World Championship success came at Tokyo 2025
© Sona Maleterova/Red Bull Content Pool
After deciding sport held a better future than crime, Tebogo knuckled down, showing promise early on. So good was he at sprinting that he was selected to represent his country at the 2021 World Athletics Relays held in May in Chorzów, Poland. He was only 17 years old and has called the event a “wild experience.”
Tebogo was on a roll. He won in the 100m and placed second in the 200m at both the 2021 and 2022 World Athletics Under-20 Championships. And, in 2021, he became the first-ever Batswana athlete to claim the 100m title at World Championships level.
The world u20 record … is a race I’m happy to always reflect back on
“The world u20 record in Cali (Colombia) in 2022, is a race I’m happy to always reflect back on,” Tebogo says. “It just makes me smile.”
From there, he became the youngest-ever person to hold the title of the 200m 2022 African champion. He was just getting warmed up; in 2024 he broke the 300m world best, running a time of 30.69s, at altitude, in South Africa.
If that’s not enough, this “super athlete” is the first man from Botswana to break the 10-second barrier.
Already a relatable hero to many back home, who now knew it was possible that one day maybe they could achieve greatness too, Tebogo was about to take things up a level with a massive win on the world stage…
03
Milestone achievement: Claiming Olympic gold in Paris 2024
Tebogo had the confidence to take gold for Botswana
© Sona Maleterova/Red Bull Content Pool
Paris was a life-changing moment for Tebogo.
He calls the 4x400m final - in which Botswana won the silver - his proudest moment, and a race he wishes he could re-live in slow motion “because there's just a lot that I could have done correctly to secure us a gold medal,” he says.
Look at it another way, and there was plenty of room for things to go wrong. In fact, Tebogo describes a lack of confidence prior to his own performance in the 200m sprint. “It’s over for me. I didn’t have the confidence to go out there and do what I had to do,” he says of the pressure of representing his country on the world stage – especially when Botswana had until that point never claimed an Olympic medal.
Thankfully, everything went right and Tebogo made history, becoming a symbol of possibility, and hope to those back home.
The Olympic gold, it means a lot to the country, it means a lot to the African continent
“The Olympic gold, it means a lot to the country, it means a lot to the African continent, because Africa is no longer known for the long-distance races,” Tebogo told World Athletics. “It is known for the short sprints now, which was the initial goal when I came into athletics,” he continued.
With this win, Tebogo further cemented his role as a symbol of possibility. His path from a small town to Olympic gold embodies the idea that greatness can come from anywhere, resonating with young people who feel overlooked.
04
Homecoming hero
When Tebogo returned from Paris, he was welcomed like a victorious football team, with a full stadium of people cheering, Botswana national flags everywhere, kids chanting and jumping around, Tebogo on a double decker bus waving to the ecstatic crowds. A certified national hero, the gold medal from Paris that put his home country on the map proudly around his neck.
It didn’t end there. Despite preferring to hide out and live a quiet life on his farm playing video games, Tebogo was thrust into the limelight, receiving houses, cars, and even free cows, plus money from his fellow citizens.
You carry more than just a flag … you carry the dreams of the people you grew up with and the pride of your countrymen
“All of which I'm grateful for,” he laughs. “Mostly, this outpouring just made me proud to represent my country at that global level. It’s a reminder that you carry more than just a flag when you compete abroad, you carry the dreams of the people you grew up with and the pride of your countrymen watching you at home."
One particular new fan stood out – Tebogo’s long-time hero, eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt.
“Where to start with this kid?” asked Bolt. “I’ve seen him through the junior days, coming up and dominating and showing that he was going to be great in the seniors. And now he’s here and he won his first Olympic medal already at this young age, which is just outstanding. The talent is there, the confidence is there also, which is always important – going out there and competing at a high level.”
05
Tebogo at home
Letsile Tebogo practises his start
© Miriam Lottes/Red Bull Content Pool
The twin influences of Bolt and Tebogo’s family, including his grandmother and mother, helped shape his path. All remain equally important today as does the con-cept of ‘Both’, a Setswana and Sesotho word which serves as a philosophy of community and emphasises that "a person is a person through other people".
“The value that shaped me is Botho,” says Tebogo, defining the word as “Respect.”
Promoting ideas of empathy, dignity and reciprocity, Botho has been a huge guiding light in Tebogo’s life, and his decision to dedicate himself to his sport, not just for himself, but for the pride and honour of his family and community.
Botho means never to undermine anyone, just do your thing and learn how to congratulate others
“Botho means never to undermine anyone, just do your thing and learn how to congratulate others if they've done better than you on the day,” he says.
He still carries these values with him, even if achieving his dreams sometimes means sacrificing time with community and family. “Leaving the family and going to chase your dream is hard,” he says. “Only seeing them for a short while when you’re home before you have to travel for work again is the toughest part about this sport.”
Still, for Tebogo it’s worth it. His reach now extends beyond Botswana to children and aspiring athletes across the globe. “The children that I inspire across the world, sometimes are less privileged and cannot do sports because of their situations,” he says. “To offer them hope is important.”
06
The winning team
Letsile Tebogo led Botswana to 4x400 glory in Tokyo
© Sona Maleterova/Red Bull Content Pool
The concept of Botho, and of family, applies to Tebogo’s sporting family, too. He’s spent his career with coach Kebonyemodisa 'Dose' Mosimanyane, with whom he’s very close.
It’s a uniquely authentic relationship, and a bond focused on greatness, yes, but also on humility.
“There's a lot that you can take from that man: patience, discipline and how to handle the fame, plus anything and everything that you need to know as an athlete,” Tebogo says.
The pair train at their home track in Maun, Botswana, and despite offers to relocate to the US, Tebogo is happy where he is. “I wanted to give [Mosimanyane] the chance to prove himself to me and the world,” Tebogo laughs. “If he fails, then I will have to go. That was our agreement.”
He seems to be joking here, but either way, so far, Mosimanyanet has more than delivered on his end of the bargain. Tebogo too.
“I don't think coach will ever let me leave,” Tebogo adds.
The sporting world should hope the pair remain attached, as together, they’ve been able to achieve genius. Undoubtedly, Tebogo’s strengths lie in his unconventional yet effective sprinting form – look out for that single leg explosion – his powerful starts, and his ability to sustain top speed. It doesn’t hurt that he keeps himself in excellent physical condition, either.
It’s Tebogo’s single leg strength that forms the cornerstone of his style, generating immense forward propulsion and force with each and every foot strike. Mosimanyanet nurtures this, with training drills focused on knee drive and single-leg strength – all of which combine to exceptional jumping strength, stride efficiency and a deadly top speed.
07
The future
Team spirit and support have been hugely important
© Sona Maleterova/Red Bull Content Pool
It hasn’t all been plain sailing. 2024 was a difficult year in Tebogo’s personal life, and he remembers being in a slump until his team-mates pulled him out of it. “One day my team-mates came here, they fetched me: ‘Let us go, watch us train. Maybe something will click.’”
It was what Tebogo needed to get back on track, literally and figuratively.
This September he followed up his amazing streak with a stunning performance to anchor the Botswana 4x400m relay team to a stunning gold medal - the first time an African nation has won the event. Tebogo, alongside team-mates Lee Eppie, Bayapo Ndori, and Busang Kebinatshipi, edged out the United States and South Africa in a dramatic photo finish that had audiences on the edge of their seats. The victory marked a defining moment not only for Botswana but for African athletics as a whole.
So far, nothing and no one seems to be able to stop Tebogo. But, if he gave it all up tomorrow, would he be happy, chilling out with his animals on his farm back home? With little to no ego involved, you get the sense that Tebogo would be equally as comfortable away from the limelight.
“I’m just an ordinary person,” Tebogo considers. “Only when I get on to the track, I become somebody different.”