"Not having you here is so painful" - Olympic gold medalist Letsile Tebogo remembers his late mother before heading for the Diamond League Finals

Letsile Tebogo of Botswana is all set to claim another major title after his historic victory at the Paris Olympics. The sprinter is gunning for an emphatic victory in the men's 200m finals at the Brussels Diamond League 2024, which will commence on Friday, September 13.

However, amidst the excitement, Tebogo took some time to pay tribute to the biggest source of inspiration in his life - his deceased mother. In an emotional story on Instagram, the Olympic champion in the men's 200m mentioned how much he misses his mother.

Letsile Tebogo shared a photo of him and his mother and wrote in the Instagram story:

"The day I lost you, I also lost me. I've been trying to find myself again but it's hard. It's hard because you were a huge part of my life. Not having you here is so painful. I'm just not me anymore."

Letsile Tebogo pens an emotional note for his mother before the Diamond League Finals [Source: Letsile Tebogo's Instagram]

Letsile Tebogo's mother Seratiwa Tebogo passed away in May 2024 after a brief bout of illness. Tebogo had just come second at the Los Angeles Grand Prix. However, the 21-year-old athlete recovered from this major setback to deliver a historic performance at the Paris Olympics.

Defying all expectations, Tebogo ran the 200m in a record 19.46 seconds to give Botswana its first-ever Olympic gold medal. He even dedicated his victory to his mother by wearing the shoes around his neck. Letsile Tebogo also won a silver medal for the men's 4x400m relay team at the Paris Olympics 2024.

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Letsile Tebogo's performances at the Wanda Diamond League 2024

Letsile Tebogo [Extreme Right] in action at the Silesia Diamond League 2024 [Image Source: Getty]

Weeks before the Paris Olympics, Letsile Tebogo had declared his intentions for the 200m with a victory at the Monaco Diamond League meet in July 2024. Tebogo ran the race within 19.87 seconds to claim the first position.

Since then, the sprinter from Botswana has not lost a single meet, especially at the Wanda Diamond League 2024. Tebogo has won all the races he contested, earning enough points to qualify for the Diamond League finals at Brussels in Belgium.

At the Lausanne Diamond League, Letsile Tebogo won with a timing of 19.64 seconds. Soon after, he participated at the Silesia Diamond League, where Tebogo won the race again, though with a timing of 19.83 seconds. Despite a slower timing than before, he had created a meet record at the Silesia Diamond League.

At Zurich, in the penultimate leg of the Diamond League meets before the finals to be held at Brussels, the Botswana sprinter improved his timing to 19.55 seconds, winning the race for the fourth consecutive time.

Since Noah Lyles is out of competition, the only opposition to Letsile Tebogo's claim to the Diamond League title will be Kenny Bednarek, who won the silver medal at the Paris Olympics in the 200m event.