Letsile Tebogo shares 3-word reaction on starting preparations for upcoming track season

Letsile Tebogo has kicked off the preparations for the upcoming season of track and field following an impressive 2024 season. The Botswana sprinter won the gold medal in the men's 200m at the Paris Olympics.

Tebogo started his preparations relatively late and was seemingly fatigued after the first practice session. The Olympic champion shared his first thoughts in an Instagram story on Tuesday, writing:

"Back to reality."

Letsile Tebogo's Instagram story

Tebogo started his 2024 season early in February and clocked a 300m world record of 30.69s in his opening race. He racked up impressive times over both 100m and 200m but lost his mother before the Games.

The 21-year-old remained out of competition for over a month before continuing on his road to winning the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He clocked an African record time of 19.46s to beat the American duo of Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles, who won the silver and bronze respectively.

The U20 world record holder paid a heartwarming tribute to his mother following the win, showing off his spikes which had her mother's date of birth imprinted.

Tebogo also anchored Botswana to a silver medal in the 4x400m relay after becoming the country's first-ever Olympic gold medalist. The 21-year-old concluded his season at the Diamond League Finals, losing to Kenny Bednarek for the first time.

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"I thought it was the end of the world" - Letsile Tebogo on losing mother before Paris Olympics

The Olympic Games-Paris 2024 - Letsile Tebogo in action (Source: Getty)

Letsile Tebogo was fresh off a second place in the 100m at the Los Angeles Grand Prix when he heard the news of her mother, Seratiwa Tebogo's demise. He was raised single-handedly by her mother and her death made the sprinter think it was the end of his world.

“The first few days or few weeks after my mum died were super-difficult for me because I thought it was the end of the world, the end of my career, the end of everything I have tried to accomplish," he told World Athletics in an interview in September 2024.

The 21-year-old credited his coach and his team for supporting him through the tough time and motivating him to continue competing.

“But then the people who were around me, my coach and my team, told me to take each day as it comes, one step at a time. Don’t try to make a big step when you can’t manage to handle it," Letsile Tebogo added.

He eventually made her mother proud with the emphatic 200m victory at the Paris Olympics and would hope to continue to do so at the 2025 World Championships.