Julius OkorieBotswana’s Letsile Tebogo made history on Thursday night emerging as the first African to win Olympic 200m Gold.
Tebogo, who floored two Americans in the bargain, finished the race in 19.46s, pushing America’s Kenny Bednarek who finished at 19.62s and most importantly stopping 100m Champion Noah Lyles who finished in a time of 19.70s from claiming both the 100m and 200m titles.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelLyles had come into the race with a lot of optimism, and had been tipped to make it a double but Tebogo who revealed he was running in memory of his mother had other plans and executed on the track without even smiling but simply going ahead to ring the victory bell.
Boastful Lyles the man who just four days ago insisted he’d leave his rivals “depressed” when he came off the turn, lost his signature race.
That Lyles didn’t add the 200 gold to his haul is a massive surprise. This race is Lyles’ specialty, his first love, the event that comes most naturally to him.
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When asked earlier this week how confident he felt about winning the men’s 200, Lyles grinned and said, “Pretty confident, can’t lie.”
Speaking specifically about fellow American Kenny Bednarek, Lyles added, “That man ain’t winning. None of them is winning.”
In retrospect, perhaps there should have been more concern on Wednesday when Lyles took a rare loss in the 200 semifinals. He sprang out of the blocks slowly, languished in third place as he came off the curve and never caught up to Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo.
In the 100, Lyles also lost his semifinal but came through when it mattered. In the 200, his favourite race, Lyles couldn’t repeat that feat.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
