"I just miss my mom, I think it affected me so bad"- Letsile Tebogo opens up on having a mental breakdown before winning the 100m at the Rome DL

Letsile Tebogo opened up about having a mental breakdown hours before the 100m race at the Rome Diamond League. The Botswanian athlete said he missed his mother, who died in May, which led to his breakdown. However, he re-centered his focus by meditating and visualizing the race to clinch the victory.

Tebogo continued his momentum after a victorious campaign at the Paris Olympics. He has won three back-to-back races in the Diamond League, with two victories coming in the 200m in Lausanne & Silesia and the 100m in Rome. He defeated top athletes Fred Kerley and Christian Coleman to clinch the gold medal in the Rome Diamond League with a time of 9.87s.

During a post-race interview with journalist Fentuo Tahiru, Letsile Tebogo said he suffered a mental breakdown before the race as he missed his late mother.

"I wouldn't say I was in great shape because I had too many mental breakdowns a few hours before the race. I tried to be positive, I tried to keep everything positive. I meditated before the race and imagined how the race is and how I wanted it to be because it is something that we cannot control," he said. (0:11)

“I just miss my mom. I think it affected me so bad, but I tried to keep positive. I didn’t try to show to anyone that the boy is not okay. I made calm, just in my corner, thought ‘Alright,’ and just let it go,” he added. (0:55)

Letsile Tebogo on breaking the world record in the 200m

Letsile Tebogo- Wanda Diamond League meeting in Chorzow - Source: Getty

After winning the 200m in the Lausanne Diamond League, Letsile Tebogo spoke about breaking the world record that stands at 19.19s (Usain Bolt). Considering his recent performances, the Botswanian athlete expressed that it would not take him long to achieve the feat.

"I see it, but I don't want to put myself under that pressure of trying to break that world record. If it comes, it will come very surely. You don't have to push it this year, we don't have to push it next year," he said.

"Probably when we are 24, that's when we can attempt something like that but I don't think it will take long, looking at what I did today and what I did in the 200m final. I don't think it will take that long because I could see it, it’s about 10 meters away from me," Tebogo added.

Letsile Tebogo will conclude his 2024 season at the Diamond League in Zurich, scheduled for September 5.