"Rome wasn’t built in a day"- Initially fighting poverty Olympic Champion Letsile Tebogo gives valuable advice to young kids

Letsile Tebogo recently opened up about his journey to young athletes ahead of the 16th Diamond League Season. Tebogo is now aiming to inspire children through the power of sports, stressing on the fact that it showed him a way out of hardships.

The 21-year-old sprinter was raised by a single mother in a village in Southern Botswana. Speaking with BBC Sport Africa, Tebogo mentioned that there were a lot of criminals in the neighbourhood where he grew up, and his life could have taken a different path without his passion for athletics.

In a press conference ahead of the Diamond League season, Letsile Tebogo shared his advice for kids on how winning the gold medal had changed his life.

“The gold medal has helped me in many ways. It has opened doors that have been closed, and from my end, I am happy that I inspired a lot of kids, and right now we are on a campaign to take as many kids to get into sporting course to help them get out of the neighbourhood that we grew up in," he said.

He further added, one should never give up and that hard work pays off,

"They should just run, they shouldn’t give up on their dreams because, Rome wasn’t built in a day. It took years to build up to where I am right now."

Tebogo is also the ambassador for the World Athletics Kids Athletic Programme, which aims to encourage children to become active and promote a balanced lifestyle through athletics.

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Letsile Tebogo expresses his views about fame and Olympic medals

Letsile Tebogo after winning the 100m men during the 2024 Diamond League - Source: Getty

About his debut win at the Paris 2024 Olympics and the fame he gained in Botswana, Letsile Tebogo said (via CITIUS MAG)

“It’s been good to get the medal, but the consequences that come with the medals, it’s just a lot of work for me. I don’t know about others, but for me I like to handle them. But as the years go by, I’m starting to learn new things each and everyday so I know how to hold to the consequences that are there." (5:43 onwards)

Speaking about being a young athlete from Africa at the Olympics,

"I didn’t believe it at first that I did it. When I ran the bell that’s when it clicked for me, that now you are the Olympic champion."

"So I feel like it's something that’s there that I have enjoyed the most to do, so it was a good feeling for me," he added.

Tebogo won his first gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics and was awarded the 2024 World Athlete of the Year title. He had an incredible 2024 season, winning Botswana’s and Africa’s first-ever gold medal. He is now set to kick off the 16th Diamond League season in Xiamen, China, which will begin on April 26.