Letsile Tebogo believes track and field is yet to find next Usain Bolt but 'new generation is coming up'

Letsile Tebogo has claimed that while Usain Bolt's era has long passed, the world is yet to surpass the success he achieved in track and field. The Botswana sprinter has been pitted as one of the prospects to fill the gap left by Bolt and recently won the 200m Olympic title in Paris.

Tebogo rose to prominence after breaking Usain Bolt's U20 World Record in the men's 100m. He went on to secure bronze and silver medals at the 2023 World Championships before truly announcing himself on the global stage at the Paris Olympics.

Tebogo beat overwhelming favorite and 100m Olympic champion Noah Lyles in the 200m final, running a new African record of 19.46s for the gold medal. USA's Kenny Bednarek won the silver medal while Lyles settled for the silver. The 21-year-old has raced multiple times following the end of the Olympic Games and has been undefeated since, running impressive times across all of his races.

Letsile Tebogo is now set to run in the Diamond League Finals in Brussels and is an overwhelming favorite to secure his maiden title, at least in the 200m. Speaking at the press conference ahead of the competition, Lyles claimed that Usain Bolt's achievements were yet to be surpassed.

"I don't there's any special training from my side. People always have their own opinions about how you look at one particular person. For me, I believe we are at a era where there is a new generation coming up... I believe that era (Bolt's era) we have passed but we didn't surpass his goals that he did in the track and field sport," he said.

Tebogo will compete in both the 100m and the 200m finals in Brussels. With Noah Lyles not competing, he is an overwhelming favorite for the 200m title. However, he will continue to be an underdog in the 100m with Fred Kerley and Kenny Bednarek as favorites.

---

Letsile Tebogo claims he isn't far from breaking Usain Bolt's 200m World Record

Athletissima Lausanne - Diamond League 2024 - Letsile Tebogo(Source: Getty)

Usain Bolt's 200m world record of 19.19s has stood for nearly 15 years now, and the only person to come close to that mark is Noah Lyles in recent years, who clocked 19.31s in 2022. Along with Lyles, Letsile Tebogo has been backed to break the mark, and his recent 19.46s run only suggests he is getting closer.

Speaking after running 19.64s a week later after the Olympics, Tebogo claimed that it wouldn't take him a long time to break the world record but he didn't want to put himself under the pressure of trying to do that.

"I see it, but I don't want to put myself under that pressure of trying to break the 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. 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 said.

Letsile Tebogo is only 21 years old and by the 2028 L.A. Olympics, he would be at the peak of his powers. It could be the perfect opportunity for him to defend his Olympic title with a world-record performance.