Letsile Tebogo: The bumper rewards that await Botswana’s first ever Olympics gold medallist

Letsile Tebogo after winning the 200m gold medal | Imago

Letsile Tebogo: The bumper rewards that await Botswana’s first ever Olympics gold medallist

Joel Omotto 10:30 - 09.08.2024

Botswana sprint sensation Letsile Tebogo is set to pocket a life-changing amount from his country and World Athletics after making history by stunning Noah Lyles to win Olympics gold.

Botswana sprint sensation Letsile Tebogo is set to pocket over Ksh16 million from his Paris Olympics win in the 200m final.

Running in the memory of his mother Seratiwa Tebogo, who passed away in May, Tebogo stunned three-time world champion Noah Lyles to claim an Olympics gold in a new African record of 19.46 seconds as American Kenny Bednarek settled for silver while the former shockingly claimed bronze.

It was a historic achievement as Tebogo became the first athlete from Botswana to win a gold medal at the Olympics while winning a medal over the distance for Africa since 1996.

With that historic feat, Tebogo is set to be rewarded handsomely for the great job.

The Botswana government set aside a big purse to reward its Olympians if they perform well in Paris and it is harvest time for Tebogo.

Botswanan gold medallists in Paris will be rewarded P1 million (Ksh9,538,990), silver attracting P500,000 (Ksh4,769,495) while bronze medallists take home P250,000 (2,384,747). Finalists will also be rewarded with a P25,000 (Ksh238,474) cash prize.

That is much more than what World Athletics has set aside for Olympic champions in track and field at the 2024 Games.

The global athletics governing body will reward only gold medallists in Paris and each will take home $50,000 (Ksh6,475,000).

It means Tebogo is guaranteed a total purse of Total Ksh16,013,990 from his under 20 seconds job in the French capital, a life-changing amount for the 21-year-old.

It does not end there for Tebogo as his government also vowed to reward all Olympics gold medallists with P2,500 (Ksh23,847) in monthly groceries for a year.

Tebogo will therefore receive groceries worth that amount until at least August 2025.

As an Olympics champion, Tebogo will also command a huge appearance fee in each of the races he features in from now, while he will become a huge draw for sponsors, who will now be falling over themselves to leverage on his new-found status at a massive fee.