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The 2004 Olympic 100m champion has given a candid explanation as to why Letsile Tebogo is a special athlete and deserves to be respected.
American sprint legend Justin Gatlin has explained why youngster Letsile Tebogo is a one-of-a-kind athlete following his Paris Olympics exploits and how he continues to dominate.
After finishing distant sixth in the men’s 100m final, Tebogo bounced back to claim commanding victory in the men’s 200m, beating Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles to second and third places respectively.
The Botswanan sprint king was not yet done with his exploits as he propelled the men’s 4x400m relay team to a silver medal, finishing behind Team USA which was anchored by Rai Benjamin. Gatlin noted that being a 21-year-old and having achieved such milestones makes Tebogo an athlete to watch in future races.
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10:00 - 27.08.2024
Letsile Tebogo declares the toughest race between 100m and his favored 200m
Tebogo has found much more success in the 200m this season.
After the Olympics, Tebogo did not rest on his laurels as he proceeded to claim top honours at the Diamond League Meeting in Lausanne before obliterating a strong field in Silesia.
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“If someone came to me at 20 and told me, Justin, you are about to go to the Olympics and you are about to run 9.8, 19.4 and then you are going to drop a 43 for the 4x400m and you are about to make an epic finish in the final, that’s a great day,” Gatlin said in his Ready Set Go podcast.
“You ain’t got to tell me how many medals I won, even if I won medals, I’d have been happy with that. I think the only one that came closer to the workload that was similar to his was Gabby. He put an OG workload in him, bro. That workload was during my era in 2004,” he added.
On his part, Gatlin’s co-host Rodney Green lauded the world 100m silver medallist, noting that he took such a huge workload and was able to deliver.
Green added that if Botswana had a 4x100m team, Tebogo would have undoubtedly competed in that race too.
“No sprinter, I know you are going to get me in the comments, but I strongly believe no sprinter had the workload that he had. Three rounds in the 100m, three rounds in the 200m, and two rounds in the 4x400m,” Green said.
“Usually, whoever does the 200m if they are going to run the 4x4, they don’t run the first round, they only run the second round. But to go through that type of workload and I’m sure if they had the 4x100m, he would have run there too,” he added.
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