'Fred (Kerley) was there for me during my hard times' - Letsile Tebogo revels in the bromance he shares with American speedster

'Fred (Kerley) was there for me during my hard times' - Letsile Tebogo revels in the bromance he shares with American speedster

Funmilayo Fameso 16:53 - 14.09.2024

Letsile Tebogo shed light on his bromance with Fred Kerley which has got track fans intrigued in the past few months.

The recent bromance between Letsile Tebogo and American speedster Fred Kerley has got track fans engulfed in the peculiarity of their relationship.

Despite being rivals on the track in the men's sprint, they do not let it deter their relationship as they've grown to be one of the most loved pairs in athletics, one that has intrigued fans on how their blossoming friendship is contagious when they're not racing against each other.

Letsile Tebogo and Fred Kerley

Tebogo has now shed more light on this, revealing how they've grown to be brothers in the past few months.

"With Fred, I know we're always going to have fun because he's my brother, I'm the little boy like he always says so I'm always happy to see Fred in that lineup, I'm always happy to see him there," said the Motswana Olympic champion in an interview with the Diamond League ahead of the Brussels final.

"I'm always amazed to see him even though he knows or I know that one of us has to beat each other but we don't let it come in between the relationship that we have."

Tebogo has had an incredible 2024 season highlighted by winning Botswana's and Africa's first gold medal in sprint history at the Paris Olympic Games. He also anchored his country's 4x400m relay squad to the silver medal, thus carting home with two medals in his maiden Olympics.

Letsile Tebogo anchored Botswana's 4x400m relay squad to a new African Record and Olympic silver medal // @ESPNAfrica

Not resting on his oars, the 22-year-old followed his Paris performance with five wins post-Olympics and he's the top favourite to cop the Diamond League title in the 200m event at Brussels final on September 14.

His exceptional rise to the pinnacle of men's sprint this year has seen him arguably earn accolades as the face of athletics (not his stack rival Noah Lyles, who is the Olympic 100m champion), as the spotlight is always on him in each of his races, topping social media and news headlines.

However, all these may not have happened after a heartbreaking moment in May, when he lost his mum to the cold hands of death following a brief illness.

Tebogo has now revealed that during this trying time, Fred (Kerley) was there for him and that was how their bromance started.

Letsile Tebogo and his late mum at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest

"Fred (Kerley) was there for me during my hard times. I remember he just texted me and when I don't respond, he'll just get mad at me. So I believe that's where the relationship came about," he said.

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