In Cali, Colombia, at more than a thousand meters of altitude, a Botswanan teenager has shaken the panorama of world athletics.
His name, Letsile Tebogo.
The reason, running the 100-meter dash faster than any other teenager in history.
Born in 2003, Tebogo grew up in Kanye, a city of 45,000 people in southern Botswana.
There, near the border with South Africa, as high as Cali, he was soon seduced by soccer, the sport he followed the most as a child —especially the English league, where he supports Chelsea—, but his future soon became clear. .
“In the team they always left me on the bench;
I had a hard time, it was very frustrating, so I ended up choosing athletics,” he told the Runblogrun.com blog in March.
Apparently the decision was the right one.
Not only for having set the new world record for the 100-meter dash in the sub-20 category —9'91 seconds—, but for something more important: “Running allowed me to bring food home from day one.”
All in all, it wasn't until he was 15 that his head clicked: "I realized I could go pro in 2018."
Soon, the brands proved him right: the three best times in the junior category are his: 9'91, 9'94 and 9'96.
The absolute record belongs to Usain Bolt (9'58 at the World Championships in Berlin, in 2009), a mirror in which the young Tebogo looks at himself: "He is my idol, whom I have looked at since I was little."
2002 @usainbolt 🤝 2022 @LetsileTebogo2 #WorldAthleticsU20 pic.twitter.com/nJz48wTlYF
– World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) August 3, 2022
On Wednesday, in Cali, just after stopping the stopwatch at the finish line, where he arrived in excess, looking at his rivals and celebrating before time, Tebogo, a light blue and black jersey, the colors of Botswana, smiled when he found out that Usain Bolt had praised his brand on social media: "It's an honor, although we haven't met in person yet."
Then, in the park closed to the press, still on the tartan, a journalist asked: "What do you think should happen for you to meet?"
In a still unfluent English, smiling, the young Botswanan did not hesitate for a moment: "Beat his record."
Tebogo, who apologized for celebrating the victory ahead of time — “I just wanted people to enjoy it from home” — acknowledged that he sees himself capable of more: “I think I can run under 9'80 seconds, but I'm patient.
I'm still a junior and this is my record as a junior.
Step by Step".
In Botswana, a country the size of the Iberian Peninsula with barely two million inhabitants, the emergence of Tebogo, who still lives and trains there, has outlined a hopeful future.
"Every time he competes, our country expects a miracle," says journalist Karabo Bosena.
Everything, in a continent without a habit of great sprinters – only five of the 40 best marks of all time came from African athletes;
two of them last year.
“I think it's time for Africa to take over these events at the big championships,” the young Botswanan told Runblogrun.com.
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In Cali, 11,000 kilometers from home, in addition to climbing to the top of the podium in the 100 meters, Tebogo has also smashed the record for the 200 (19'99 seconds).
He did it in the qualifying round, where the big names run with no sparkle in their eyes, letting themselves go.
He is not bored.
He draws attention, he attracts, he has charisma.
The cameras are looking for him.
There, at the Pascual Guerrero stadium, his life has turned upside down.
Before arriving in Colombia, his Twitter account had nearly 4,000 followers;
just a few hours later, the figure doubled.
Deji Ogeyingbo, a Nigerian journalist who knows Tebogo from lower categories, is clear: "He has a special talent."
And he warns: “He is not yet ready to deal with the press, but he communicates well, he has very clear ideas.
Now everything will grow around him and he has to go step by step.
I am sure that he will learn quickly.”
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