“I've abused the body”- Letsile Tebogo opens up on the physical toll of his record-breaking season after runner-up finish at Diamond League Finals

Letsile Tebogo has had a rewarding but hectic season, and the toll of competing non-stop caught up to him by the Diamond League Final. The sprinter opened up about dealing with the exhaustion that came with his year after finishing second in Brussels.

For Tebogo, 2024 has been an absolutely historic year. After a strong start to his season, the Botswana sprinter went on to win the 200m gold at the Paris Olympics, becoming the first man from his country to win an Olympic gold.

After his heroics at the Stade De France, the Botswana sprinter, unlike many of his fellow Olympians, opted to continue competing. He claimed back-to-back victories at the Lausanne, Silesia, Rome and Zurich Diamond Leagues, and followed those up with a winning performance at the Grand Prix Lombardia.

However, Letsile Tebogo stumbled in the Diamond League final in Brussels, as Paris Olympics silver medalist Kenny Bednarek put an end to his winning streak. After the race, the 21-year-old opened up about the exhaustion he was dealing with after his hectic season.

“I thought there would be some gears in me left, but from the blocks I didn't get that start, because the body has shut down. I've abused the body, so I feel like running this 19.8s is still fine for me," Tebogo said.

In a separate interview, the 21-year-old revealed that despite a longer warm up, he didn't feel up to his usual standards and was happy to make it through the race without sustaining an injury.

“I've tried to do a longer warm up but still the body wasn't getting warm enough. So I was just hoping that I could finish the race healthy, injury free and I'm happy I managed to do that," Tebogo said.

Letsile Tebogo on his plans for the 2025 season

Letsile Tebogo on his plans for 2025 (Image Source: Getty)

After a 2024 season that has seen him claim the 200m Olympic gold and the 4x400m Olympic silver, Letsile Tebogo has set his sights on higher targets in 2025. Discussing his plans for the next season after the Diamond League Final, the Botswanian revealed he intends to go for three golds at the 2025 World Championships.

“Next season I'll have to look at the schedule, how it looks like. Because I believe there's a lot of things to be done, so we don't have much time (for the World Championships), so I believe it's going to be the double. After getting the gold medals, then (I’ll) get into the 4x400m, and get that gold medal. That's the main goal for 2025, to get the gold medal for the 4x400m, then the 100m gold medal and the 200m gold medal again," Tebogo said.

The 2025 World Championships are scheduled to take place in Tokyo next September.