President of Botswana declares a public holiday in the country after Letsile Tebogo wins their first gold medal in Olympic history

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Aug 09, 2024 10:04 GMT

Letsile Tebogo has become a national hero for Botswana. Like Julian Alfred of Saint Lucia, the sprinter from Botswana shocked the entire world as he won the Olympic gold medal in the men's 200m sprint event, becoming the first African athlete to achieve this honor.

However, even Tebogo was least prepared for the surprise reward that the President of Botswana had reserved for him. Mokgweetsi Masisi, the president of Botswana, has declared a national holiday in honor of Tebogo' historic win at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

According to a post by Track and Field Gazette on X (formerly Twitter):

"The President of Botswana has declared a public holiday (afternoon day off) all over the country after Letsile Tebogo's exploits at the Paris 2024 Olympics! He became his country's first athlete to win a GOLD medal in Olympic history!"

Tebogo's gold medal is Botswana's third-only Olympic medal ever in the history of the Summer Games. Botswana made its Olympic debut at the Moscow Olympics in 1980. However, it took them 32 years to get an Olympic medal.

At the 2012 London Olympics, Nijel Amos surprised everyone when he finished a few paces behind world record-holder David Rudisha of Kenya in the men's 800m race to win a silver medal, which was Botswana's first-ever medal at any Olympics. It was followed up with a bronze medal was won by their men's 4x400m relay team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

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Letsile Tebogo's performance at the Paris Olympics

Letsile Tebogo was clearly not one of the favorites to win an Olympic gold medal in the men's 200m. However, two consecutive medals at the 2023 World Championships held in Budapest, including a bronze in 200m, meant that he would give some tough competition to the athletes at the Paris Olympics.

Letsile Tebogo (L) is congratulated by Kenny Bednarek after the finals of the 200m at the 2024 Paris Olympics [Image Source: Getty]

Noah Lyles topped his heats with a time of 20.19 seconds. However, he stood fourth overall, as Tebogo beat him with a time of 20.1 seconds in his heats. During the semifinals, the two faced each other directly and the sprinter from Botswana overcame the American challenge to finish first in the race with a time of 19.96 seconds, while Lyles could only manage 20.08 seconds to finish second.

However, the finals were the real deal. Tebogo kept up neck and neck with Kenneth Bednarek and Lyles, and lunged ahead with only 50m remaining. The final push gave him a time of 19.46 seconds, which is not only the new African record but has also made him the fifth-fastest sprinter in this discipline of all time, overcoming Erriyon Knighton's time of 19.49 seconds.