Letsile emerges as one of Botswana’s wonders

Mqondisi Dube | Monday May 1, 2023 17:10

Now, Botswana is witnessing the emergence of another wonder in human form. At the tender age of 19, Letsile Tebogo is shaking athletics’ established order and threatens to run his way into legendary status. Before the emergence of Tebogo, there has been Amantle Montsho, Isaac Makwala and Nijel Amos, Botswana’s genuinely world class athletics. But there is a certain element of aura, flambouyance, laced with elegance and a dash of arrogance that has thus far been the hallmark of Tebogo’s rise to a swashbuckling global superstar. On Saturday, around 15,000 fans who paid to watch some of the finest talent from across the world, during the FNB Botswana Golden Prix, were once again served a sumptuous reminder of Tebogo’s prodigious talent. The English press once labelled one Stan Collymore as one of the most naturally gifted players of his generation. Collymore did not achieve much but he had a skill set that wowed the English fans. Botswana has witnessed countless talent on the track but most of it pales in comparison to what Tebogo’s legs bring to the track. A naturally gifted athlete who effortless glides his way to the finish line, Tebogo is brewing something bigger than the 9.91 secs World 100m Junior record he set in Columbia last year. Already, the Kanye lad has battered the local 100m mark countless times and is already tipped to challenge Usain Bolt’s world record. Bolt is regarded as the best ever sprinter and his astonishing 100m record of 9.58 will take some beating. While Tebogo is largely seen as a 100m specialist, he sent a chilling reminder of his capabilities in the 200m dash as he powered to victory on Saturday, stopping the clock at 19.87 which is this year’s world leading time. Is there anything that Tebogo cannot do? And it’s frightening that he is only 19, turning 20 in June. He might have lost his battle against Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya in the 100m, but that will do little to deter talk of Tebogo as the real deal. When Tebogo is in full flight, he is such a joy to watch and despite coming from a country that does not compare to the likes of Jamaica and the United States, he has forced a narrative-twist and could emerge as athletics’ pin-up poster boy for the next decade. The road ahead is still long, but all the promising signs are there in bucket loads. The lively crowd at the National Stadium can bear testimony to what a Tebogo firing on all cylinders can achieve. While Botswana’s is witnessing the birth of a legend, at the tail-end is a man who has given his all; Isaac Makwala. The ‘Badman’ showed he has lost a yard or two when his much-vaunted contest with Kirani James was reduced into a non-contest, as the local darling anchored the 400m race.