Tebogo eyes P400k Diamond League jackpot
Calistus Kolantsho | Tuesday August 27, 2024 09:10
Tebogo continued his dominance on Sunday evening, proving that he is on another level. He pulled away from the rest of the field with 10m before home, clocking 19.83s to win the men’s 200m, setting a new Meet Record (MR) in Silesia, Poland. The second position went to Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic with a national record of 19.86s. Ahead of Silesia event, Tebogo clocked 19.64s at the Lausanne Diamond League winning the men’s 200m. Tebogo is currently ranked number two with 24 points after three events in 200m. Ogando is seating at the top of the table with 31 points from five events.
Speaking to the media after the race, Tebogo said he does not want to put himself under pressure to break the world record. The world record was set by Usain Bolt at the 2009 World Athletics Championships, in Berlin, Germany. Tebogo said considering what he did in Silesia and what he did during the Olympic final, it is possible that he could break the 200m record happens. Tebogo ran a personal best and African record 19.46 to claim his first Olympic title recently in Paris. “We will attempt the World Record when I am 24 years. But I do not think it will take long to break it. It is about 10 meters away from me,” he said.
Athletics commentator, Billy Tambula, told SportMonitor that Tebogo has reached a point where he will dominate the 200m for a long time. “I would not be surprised if he runs a personal best (PB) in 100m on Friday in Roma,” he said. Tambula explained that the rankings are not a factor, they are used to qualify for the final. “Tebogo does not need to worry about being number one in the rankings. He just needs to win the finals and get the Diamond trophy. Even if he was fourth placed, what matters the most is the final,” Tambula said. At each of the 14 series meetings, athletes are awarded eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two or one points for ranking first to eighth respectively. Meanwhile, Tebogo has only competed in one 100m event with the second event coming up on Friday.