On Tuesday afternoon, Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi declared a holiday to welcome home sprinter Letsile Tebogo and his historic 200m gold medal, a first for Botswana.
The Botswana Olympic team was set to return on Tuesday, bringing Tebogo’s gold and a silver in the men’s 4x400m relay, increasing the country’s total Olympic medal count to four.
At just 21 years old, Tebogo made history by becoming the first African to win the men’s 200m in an African record time of 19.46 seconds, surpassing Americans Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles in Paris on August 8.
In celebration of the triumph, Masisi had previously announced a half-day holiday for the 2.3 million people of Botswana on August 9.
According to a government statement, the president is scheduled to greet the Olympic team at the airport.
Tebogo is only the second African athlete to secure an Olympic medal in the men’s 200m, following Namibian Frankie Fredericks, who won silver in Atlanta in 1996.
The Southern Africa country achieved its first Olympic medal at the 2012 London Games when Nijel Amos secured silver in the 800m. The men’s 4x400m relay team also claimed bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.