by 
Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo said he felt “full of energy” as he looked to cap his breakthrough season with victory at the Diamond League final in Brussels on Saturday.
The Botswana sprinter recovered from the death of his mother in May to win a superb gold medal at the Paris Games ahead of, among others, favourite Noah Lyles, who was affected by Covid.
He broke the African record of 19.46 seconds, a time that moved him to fifth on the all-time rankings. Tebogo also became the first African to win the Olympic 200 metres.
He had made his name on the world stage with a silver medal in the 100m and a bronze medal in the 200m at the 2023 world championships in Budapest.
Since the Olympics in the French capital, the 21-year-old has won the 200m at Diamond League events in Lausanne, Silesia, Rome and Zurich, the latter with an exceptional time of 19.55 seconds in wet and cold conditions.
Tebogo insisted at a pre-final press conference on Thursday that he was just one of a host of new faces jostling for position in the construction of a new post-Usain Bolt era.
“People always have their own opinion about how you look at a particular person,” Tebogo said.
“For me, I believe that a new generation is coming.
“I think we’re past that (Bolt) era, but we haven’t surpassed his goals in athletics yet.”
Bolt’s former Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake holds the stadium record of 19.26 seconds in Brussels, set in 2011, a record that Tebogo says could be in danger.
“Looking at what I did in Zurich, nobody thought 19.5 was possible given the weather conditions,” he said.
“I think looking at the competition, the stadium record is possible, but I don’t want to put pressure on myself to chase that stadium record.
“If it happens, it happens. All I can say is that I feel fresh after all the racing I’ve done and I feel more energetic than anything else.”
– “Two Africans against the world” –
The 200m showdown in the two-day finals, which conclude the 14-meet Diamond League elite circuit, also features Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh, alongside a trio of strong Americans in Kenny Bednarek, Erriyon Knighton and Fred Kerley.
“It’s two Africans against the rest of the world,” said Tebogo, who also finished sixth in the 100m final in Paris in 9.86 seconds. “I think it’s going to be a good race!”
“It’s a good thing to end the season with this winning streak, with this Olympic gold medal and this Diamond League trophy.”
Tebogo returned to Gaborone to a rousing welcome after his gold medal in Paris, with Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi greeting the sprinter and other Olympic athletes after declaring an impromptu half-day holiday.
“It was a proud moment to see the thousands of people waiting for me at the stadium,” he said.
“It was unbelievable for me,” added the sprinter, whose mother Seratiwa died suddenly in May while Tebogo was in the United States.
Having also been part of Botswana’s 4x400m relay team that won a thrilling silver medal in Paris, Tebogo acknowledged that real ability as a one-lap runner is on the horizon.
“I have to finish the 100m work and then move on to the 400m,” Tebogo said, adding he could spend a season focusing on the 400m after the 2025 world championships in Tokyo.
“My favourite event is the 200m because it is not as technical as the 100m. There is a lot of work and concentration in it and you can’t correct anything along the way.
“With the 200m, you can correct mistakes and push your body to its maximum limits.”
lp/bsp
