Letsile Tebogo declares the toughest race between 100m and his favored 200m

Letsile Tebogo has had the spotlight on him since winning the Olympic 200m title in Paris

Letsile Tebogo declares the toughest race between 100m and his favored 200m

Mark Kinyanjui 10:00 - 27.08.2024

Tebogo has found much more success in the 200m this season.

Botswanan sprint sensation Letsile Tebogo has explained what makes the 100m race so difficult, further revealing why he has had a preference to run in the 200m this season.

Tebogo, who has remained unbeaten since his Olympic triumph in the 200m, recently showcased his dominance once again at the Silesia Diamond League meeting in Poland on Sunday, August 25th.

In an impressive display, Tebogo recovered from a slow start on the bend to power through the finish line in a meeting record time of 19.83 seconds. 

The 21-year-old sprinted past his rivals, including Kenny Bednarek of the United States and Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic, who were ahead of him as they exited the curve. 

Tebogo's late surge secured his victory by a narrow margin, with Ogando finishing closely behind in 19.86 seconds and Bednarek taking third place in 20.00 seconds. Erriyon Knighton of the USA followed in fourth with a time of 20.07 seconds.

Tebogo's remarkable season has been marked by a series of outstanding performances, including his victory at the Monaco Diamond League meeting ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

His crowning achievement came in Paris, where he shattered the African record with a time of 19.46 seconds in the 200m, a performance that ranks as the fifth fastest ever.

Despite his success in the 200m, Tebogo's journey in the 100m has been less straightforward. A world silver medalist in the 100m, Tebogo had to settle for sixth place in the 100m final at the Paris Olympics, clocking a time of 9.86 seconds in what was one of the fastest Olympic finals in history. 

Since then, he has opted to focus primarily on the 200m, a decision he recently elaborated on during a rapid-fire question and answer segment with Supersport.

“I mean the 100 is too tactical, so we're mostly focused on the 200 because it doesn't need too much tactics,” Tebogo explained. 

“So the 100 you just have to run your race and then in that event you have to make sure you got a perfect start, drive phase, and perfect execution.”

Initially, Tebogo had considered skipping the 100m at the Olympics altogether, but ultimately decided to compete. Reflecting on his decision, he shared, "After my mum passed away, we just had to see the 200 through and planned to just leave the 100 out. 

“We had the African championships in Cameroon, so we wanted to gauge ourselves there. Unfortunately, it did not happen how we wanted."

Tebogo revealed that his decision to run the 100m at the Olympics was made at the last minute, with his training primarily focused on the 200m.

 "It was a last-minute decision, but we trained mostly on the 200m for the Olympics because we saw the potential, but we only added the 100m for the fun of it and making sure the body kept running and getting the fast times. The main focus was the 200 meters after the disaster that we had," he explained.

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