In summary
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Letsile Tebogo becomes the first African to win Olympic 200m gold, defeating favorite Noah Lyles.
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Tebogo dedicates his win to his late mother, whose birthday is written on his running shoes.
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Tebogo’s victory highlights the rising strength of African sprinters on the global stage.
Letsile Tebogo of Botswana upset Noah Lyles’ aspirations to win a sprint double in Paris on Thursday by becoming the first African to win the Olympic 200 meters.
Tebogo, 21, was able to slow down towards the end and still set an African record for gold, taking 19.46 seconds. American Kenny Bednarek took silver in the second place in 19.62 seconds, while Lyles faded to bronze in 19.70 seconds.
Reggie Walker of South Africa is the only African to have won a short sprint title at an Olympic Games. He did so in the 100m at the London Games in 1908.
With that time, he passed American Erriyon Knighton and moved up to the fifth-fastest spot on the all-time list. It was Botswana’s first-ever gold medal at an Olympics.
“It was really a beautiful race for me,” Tebogo said. “When we made it to the final, my coach just told me, ‘Now that my job is done, it’s up to you to see what you can do. Whether it’s a medal or not, just finish the race healthy’.
“That’s all I could’ve wished for. I’m happy I finished the race healthier than before.”
Tebogo lost his mother Seratiwa in May, which makes his gold even more remarkable. The birthdate of his late mother is printed on his running shoes.
“It’s basically me carrying her through every stride that I take inside the field,” said the sprinter, who took a month off training and competition after her death.
“It gives me a lot of motivation. She’s watching up there, and she’s really, really happy. I didn’t want to put the date of her death, because I’ll get emotional.”
Tebogo added, “I’m really grateful for the team around me. They really pushed me through thick and thin.
“We had our ups and downs, but we just made sure that we pulled through and made it to the Olympics.”
The final took place in the middle of the packed Stade de France and it lacked the fan hype of the 100m.
When cameras rolled and Lyles appeared on the giant screens of the stadium, he was met with a huge ovation.
The new 100m champion, Lyles, was drawn in lane five, outside Alexander Ogando and inside American teammate Erriyon Knighton, while Tebogo was in lane seven.
As he had done before to the 100-meter final, the American bound into the stadium, cupping his ear to the fans. However, his excessive showoff resulted in a yellow card for breaking the starting block.
Tebogo continued walking silently and made his way to his blocks.
Lyles was up on Ogando in no time after the gun went off.
While Tebogo, Bednarek, and him all performed well upon rounding the turn, Lyles was in third place, entering the home straight.
Tebogo gave off the impression that he was in total control and even relaxed as he crossed the finish line, dismissing the rest of the field.
Bednarek took silver, with Lyles taking bronze after being unable to replicate his gold medal showing in the 100m.
