Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo has credited athletics for steering him away from a life of crime, saying the sport provided him with purpose and discipline during his youth.
Tebogo, who made history by winning Botswana’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in Paris last year, shared his journey on Wednesday while discussing his new role as a global ambassador for the Kids Athletics scheme.
“Sport has helped me a lot because I think without it… probably I would be a criminal by now,” the 21-year-old told reporters via video conference.
“In the neighbourhood where I grew up, crime was the only way to survive. But with sport, I knew I had to go to school, and after training, you’re too tired to roam the streets or break into houses,” he explained.
Realising the positive impact of athletics, Tebogo encouraged his childhood friends to take up sports, with some now pursuing football.
The Kids Athletics programme, run by World Athletics, is designed for children aged four to 14. It promotes participation and enjoyment through adapted track and field events. Tebogo joined a relay event with around 1,000 children in Botswana on the same grounds where he once trained as a boy.
Reflecting on his early years, he admitted he initially had no interest in athletics.
“I was more of a footballer, a left-winger. My primary school teachers forced me into athletics,” he recalled.
The turning point came after the 2018 Commonwealth Games when he began taking the sport more seriously. His decision paid off spectacularly when he stormed to Olympic gold in Paris, setting an African record of 19.46 seconds in the 200m final, ahead of the USA’s Kenny Bednarek and 100m champion Noah Lyles.
Following that victory, Tebogo controversially described Lyles as “arrogant,” suggesting that the American sprinter dominated media attention. However, he clarified his remarks on Wednesday.
“When you get onto the track, it’s all about business. When we finish, we can be friends—life goes on,” he said. “But Lyles’ ‘arrogance’… he is good at selling our sport. I prefer to avoid that because that’s just who I am.”
Tebogo recently tested himself in a rare 400m race in Melbourne, finishing second, and will compete in a 200m event in Botswana next week before heading to Diamond League meetings in Xiamen and Shanghai on April 26 and May 3.
Looking ahead to the World Championships in Tokyo this September, Tebogo acknowledged the stiff competition awaiting him.
“Everybody on the lineup is a rival. You can’t count someone out just because they didn’t perform well at the 2024 Olympics or the 2023 World Championships,” he said.
