"Worst execution I have ever done in a race" - Letsile Tebogo weighs in on a photo-finish at Zurich Diamond League

By Puneet Tripathi

Modified Sep 06, 2024 15:51 GMT

Letsile Tebogo has commented on his finishing strategy after clinching the gold medal in the men's 200m at the Zurich Diamond League. The Olympic champion extended his unbeaten streak after the Summer Games, winning his fourth Diamond League race in a month.

Tebogo faced off against Kenny Bednarek, Fred Kerley, and Erriyon Kighton among others in the men's 200m at the Zurich Diamond League 2024. Bednarek delivered an outstanding performance and led the pack until the last stages of the race, when Tebogo broke away to clinch the win in a photo-finish.

In a post-race interview, when he was asked about his motivation to still make changes to his strategy so close to the end of the season, he answered:

"I think that was one of the worst executions that I've ever done in a race. Looking at what I did on that bend and me coming from the back pushing it into the line, it really showed that, now I need to go back to the drawing board because I'm convinced that I still need to work on that curve and I still need to work on a lot of stuff so it’s me going back there."

---

Letsile Tebogo's performance at the Rome and Zurich Diamond League events

Letsile Tebogo at the Diamond League Silesia 2024 (Image via Getty)

The Zurich Diamond League 2024 featured plenty of exciting track and field action. While Mondo Duplantis maintained his pole vault supremacy a day after defeating Karsten Warholm in their exhibition 100m sprint, Kenny Bednarek and Letsile Tebogo battled it out in the men's 200m.

In Rome, the sprinter from Botswana ran 9.87 seconds to finish first in the men's 100m race, fending off difficult competition from the likes of Fred Kerley, Christian Coleman, and Ackeem Blake. Tebogo (via Wanda Diamond League) expressed satisfaction with his impressive triumph in the Italian capital:

"This was one of my best 100 meter races. Before this, I imagined what the perfect race over 100m would look like."

Coleman, the 2023 Diamond League 100m champion, finished second with a timing of 9.92 seconds, while Kerley came in third with 9.95 seconds.

The 200m Olympic champion then followed that up with another strong performance in Zurich to continue his dominant run and add another gold medal to his tally.