Why did Letsile Tebogo hold his shoe after beating Noah Lyles for 200m gold? All about Botswana sprinter's gesture for late mother

By Soumik Bhattacharya

Modified Aug 08, 2024 19:48 GMT

Following his victory in the men's 200m event final of the Paris Olympics 2024, Letsile Tebogo showed off his shoe in front of the camera to honor his late mother who passed away in May earlier this year.

The boots Tebogo showed also had the birth date of his later mother, Seratiwa Tebogo who died after suffering from an illness over a prolonged period of time. She was very supportive of her son and had also accompanied him at various tournaments.

Tebogo also spoke about this in an interview at the start of the Paris Olympic Games. He said (via Barrons):

"I've had such a huge blow that affected me deeply so I'm still trying to get the confidence back into the body. It's not about injuries, it is all about my mum."

Running in the event finals on Thursday (August 8), Tebogo registered a time of 19.46 seconds to clinch the gold medal over the two favorites for the event, Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek who finished in third and second place with times of 19.70 seconds and 19.62 seconds, respectively.

Tebogo's time in Paris was also his personal best run-time in the 200m distance and is also the African record over this distance. However, it was a very emotional moment for Tebogo as his mother was not there to accompany him in the stands as he achieved one of the biggest wins of his career.

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Letsile Tebogo produced a dominant performance in the semifinals of the men's 200m at the Paris Olympics 2024

Letsile Tebogo in the 200m event final of the Paris Olympics (Image via: Getty)

Following a sixth-placed finish in the men's 100m event of the Paris Olympics 2024, Letsile Tebogo qualified for the second Olympic final of his career after producing a superb performance in the semifinals of the event.

Tebogo, running in the second leg of the semifinal on Wednesday (August 7). clocked a run-time of 19.96 seconds to get the better of reigning 100m Olympic champion, Noah Lyles who managed a run-time of 20.08 seconds.

Tebogo's win also marked the end of Lyles' 26-race winning streak in the 200m. His last defeat in the 200m distance came three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics.