I failed to watch Letsile's 200m race- Dose
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday August 24, 2024 06:00
Letsile Tebogo’s coach, Kebonyemodisa ‘Dose’ Mosimanyane’s life changed forever after his star athlete claimed the 200m gold medal. Mosimanyane struggles to control his emotions as he reflects on a journey that took them to the podium. Mosimanyane told MmegiSport that when they left for Paris, the plan was to gain experience. “It was his Olympics debut, so the plan was to reach the finals in 100m, 200m, and assist the 4x400m relay team if his body allowed. The 100m race is always difficult, it is everyone’s race and that is how it is won. I was happy with the preparations for the 100m, we did everything we could under the circumstances,” he said.
Mosimanyane said during the 200m race, he advised Tebogo not to risk getting injured or a false start before the final. He said they had trained hard for the 200m and knew that if they reached the final, they were sure of a medal. “My advice to Tebogo ahead of the 200m final was for him just to execute the curve as much as possible. I knew that if he closes Kenneth Bednareck, he has beaten Noah Lyles,” he said. Mosimanyane explained that he failed to watch the 200m final due to emotions. He only watched the repeat. “I am proud of Tebogo; he executed our plan. We have been working on this since 2021, and I have trained him for a medal. I told him to do exactly what he did at the 2023 London Diamond League. I also reminded him to go out there and run his race,” said the proud coach. During the London Diamond League, Tebogo finished in position two setting an Area Record (AR) and Personal Best (PB) of 19.50 seconds.
American sprinter, Noah Lyles, won the race with a World Lead (WL) and Meet Record (MR) of 19.47 seconds. Mosimanyane started working with Tebogo when he was 16. When asked how Tebogo can handle pressure at international competitions, Mosimanyane said he trains his athlete on how to hold his breath and also focus on mental exercises every Tuesday and Thursday. Mosimanyane said Tebogo became part of the relay team in the semi-final after Leungo Scotch had muscle discomfort during training. “It was 10 minutes before the race. Tebogo came to warm up with the team, as expected. As the team was about to leave for the call room, Scotch complained of muscle pain (and) fortunately, Tebogo was there to fill the slot. Someone rushed to print his bib number, Nike quickly gave him spikes and he wore Scotch’s kit,” he said.
Mosimanyane said it has been a difficult time for both of them, with him losing his brother-in-law and Tebogo, his mother, Seratiwa. “We missed some training days because of the circumstances we had to deal with. Tebogo is still mourning his mother. It is a process, each individual deals with grief differently. That is why his spikes were engraved Elisabeth Seratiwa Tebogo (EST) 23-12-1980, to honour his mother,” Mosimanyane said. He said the Olympic champion has now flown back to Europe. One of Tebogo's early mentors is Wendy Mogwase, who was a teacher at Lefoko Primary School. “It was during a school athletics competition. I used to see him running with zeal when sent on errands. When it was time for the 100m race, I drew an extra lane and instructed him to keep to his lane. He did that and although he did not win the race he was very excited.
I long told his aunt that Letsile was going to be a star when he grows up,” she said. Trevor Mabua, the athlete's former teacher at Gaborone Junior Secondary School said he saw something special in Tebogo in 2018. “I was a football coach. Tebogo tried playing football but he was too fast. He had strong shots because he was strong, he was not a bad player. I felt that he was going to get injured. I advised him to join athletics,” he said. Mabua said people are expecting a lot from Tebogo in the 100m but his strength is 400m where he stands a chance to break the world record. The 400m World Record is 43.03, which was set by Wayde van Niekerk in 2016.