Three years after his World Championships breakthrough, Botswana’s Olympic 200m champion returns to Budapest for a new global test without his late mother in the stands.
GAZETTE REPORTER
Three years after his breakthrough at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Letsile Tebogo returns to the Hungarian capital this week for the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship.
Budapest was where Tebogo claimed two world medals in 2023 and announced himself on the global stage, with his mother, Seratiwa Tebogo, watching from the stands.
Emotional Return
This time, she will not be there. Seratiwa died in May 2024 after a short illness.
“I haven’t really looked into the fact that I’m going now to Budapest without my mom,” Tebogo told BBC Africa in an interview.
“It’s just been a bumpy ride having to think about it and having to continue with the grind.”
Recent Form
Tebogo arrives in Budapest after finishing fourth in the 200m at the Diamond League final last week.
Kennedy Bednarek won the race in a world-leading 19.62 seconds, with South Africa’s Sinesipho Dambile and Zimbabwe’s Makanakaishe completing the podium.
Tebogo is set to compete in both the 100m and 200m in Budapest. The men’s 100m field is led by Jamaica’s reigning world champion Oblique Seville, while Bednarek is also scheduled to contest both sprints.
Botswana Six
Botswana will be represented by six athletes at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, which runs from September 11 to 13 and brings together leading athletes for three nights of elite competition.
The first-of-its-kind biennial championship features 13 individual events for men and 13 for women, comprising eight track and five field events, alongside two relay events.
Qualification is led by Olympic champions from Paris 2024, world champions from Tokyo and Diamond League winners, with athletes also able to qualify through world rankings or exceptional invitations.
Tebogo, Botswana’s Olympic 200m champion, headlines the team. He will be joined by Collen Kebinatshipi, the reigning world 400m champion, Lee Eppie, Bayapo Ndori, Oratile Nowe and Kemorena Tisang.