Letsile Tebogo secured a gold medal in the 200m at the 2024 Paris Games. (Image by Getty)

“I’m not an arrogant or loud person like Noah Lyles” - Letsile Tebogo on why he can't be the face of athletics after winning Olympic gold

Modified Aug 09, 2024 05:38 GMT

Letsile Tebogo recently opened up on the reason why he cannot be the face of athletics even after winning a gold medal at the Paris Olympics 2024. Tebogo secured the victory in the 200m after defeating Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek.

The Botswana sprinter clocked an impressive time of 19.46 seconds to surpass the two American sprinters, who posted 19.62 and 19.70 seconds, respectively, at the Stade de France stadium. He thus became the first athlete to secure a gold medal for his nation.

In a post-race conference following his feat, when asked if he could be the face of athletics, the Botswanan athlete denied, stating that he did not have Noah Lyles' "arrogance" and had a different personality than the American.

"I think for me I can't be the face of athletics because I'm not an arrogant or a loud person like Noah," Tebogo said. "So I believe that Noah is the face of athletics."

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Lyles has passionately spoken on the lack of media attention that athletics receive and has always managed to draw attention to the sport, including making grand entrances before the meet and attending fashion weeks.

"Me carrying her through every stride that I take" - Letsile Tebogo on why he held his shoe after his 200m victory

Letsile Tebogo celebrating the gold medal in the Men's 200m Final at the Olympic Games 2024 at Stade de France in Paris, France. (Photo via Getty Images)

Letsile Tebogo dominated the 200m by defeating Kenny Bednarek and denying a double gold medal for COVID-19-hit Noah Lyles at the Paris Olympics 2024.

Following his triumph, Tebogo showed his shoe to the camera, highlighting his mother's birthdate, who passed away after suffering from an illness over a prolonged period. According to The Japan Times, the sprinter stated that donning the shoe with his mother's birthdate gives him motivation.

"It’s basically me carrying her through every stride that I take," Tebogo said. "Me, to take her, it gives me a lot of motivation. I took about a month without doing anything. It wasn’t really clicking for me that she’s really gone. For me, I have to find the reason why I started my athletics journey and why I should continue going on.

"(If she were here) I believe she could be one of the happiest people on the planet because she believed in me when I doubted myself," Tebogo added.

Letsile Tebogo's winning time also marked the African record in the 200m event.