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Botswana’s Olympics 200m champion Letsile Tebogo has identified his track rival as the face of track and field amid debate on who has changed the sport for the better.
Botswana sprinter Letsile Tebogo has weighed on the ongoing debate on whether American sprinter Noah Lyles is the face of track and field.
US sprinter Rai Benjamin caused a stir when he said last week that Lyles has changed the sport by elevating to high standards due to his outgoing personality and outspokenness, with some disagreeing with him, but he maintained the stance in a separate interview.
There have been emerging runners, however, who are threatening to steal the spotlight, such as Tebogo, who stunned Lyles to win the 200m gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
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Tebogo does not want to be drawn into the conversation yet and agrees with Benjamin that Lyles remains the face of track and field and others like him will need to be more consistent to be mentioned in the same breath.
“Even today, I am still not the face of athletics. I saw Rai’s interview which he said Noah changed the sport which I believe he did,” Tebogo said during his pre-race press conference ahead of Friday’s Rome Diamond League.
“I haven’t changed anything, I just came in and won the gold medal. That is all that I did but he [Lyles] has been there and consistent throughout the years.
“So, I can say after being consistent also, I can be the face of athletics. But when you talk, you can say; ‘he won Africa’s first gold medal [in 200m]’ but in reality, we know if there is somebody who could be there, it is still Noah.”
Benjamin claimed Lyles has been a bigger influence on track and field than legendary Jamaican Usain Bolt and others during his era.
“A lot of people came up through the ranks, Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, Yohane Blake but I think the level of attention that track and field now has because of who Noah is as a person, just his ability to bring the masses outside in track and field,” Benjamin told Sports Centre.
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16:24 - 22.08.2024
‘Dude changed the game forever’ - Rai Benjamin gives Noah Lyles his flowers
Olympics 400m hurdles champion Rai Benjamin has lauded Noah Lyles for lifting the standards of track and field due to his outgoing personality and outspokenness.
“Like the entire NBA was truly tuned in [into the Olympics] to see what could happen so the level of attention he [Lyles] has brought into the sport I feel like it has been phenomenal. Nothing like I have ever seen before in previous years.”
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