Letsile Tebogo became the first African to win the men’s Olympic 200 metres title on Thursday, beating American duo Kenny Bednarek and a COVID-infected Noah Lyles to secure Botswana’s first Olympic gold.
Tebogo, who set a national record of 9.86 seconds when he finished sixth in the 100m final, ran a strong final 50 metres and crossed the line in 19.46 seconds, thumping his chest to become the fifth-fastest man in history over 200m.
Bednarek chased him all the way to his second consecutive silver medal in 19.62 seconds, while Lyles, who had hoped to become the first American to accomplish the sprint double since Carl Lewis 40 years ago, repeated his bronze medal from Tokyo in 19.67.
It was the triple world champion’s first defeat in a 200-meter final in three years. He required medical attention after crossing the finish line, and following the race, US officials announced that he had tested positive for COVID on Tuesday, two days after winning the 100-meter gold.
“I’m the Olympic champion, it’s something I have never seen in my life or dreamt of – it is an amazing moment,” Tebogo, 21, told reporters.
“I just came here with the little that I had in me to push through because yesterday we made it to the final, my coach told me ‘now it’s your race’.
“I knew Kenny was going to run away so made sure just to close him down, I have that top-end speed that will allow me to finish the race without getting tired, so that’s what I did, and when I saw Kenny fade I knew Noah was far, far away behind us so that means I’m the Olympic champion.
“It means a lot for everybody, the country, the continent and my family,” Tebogo added.
Bednarek, the man in the middle again, ran a fantastic bend in lane eight and finished strongly, but not just quite fast enough.
“I don’t think I put my best race down, it was really tight at the end,” he said.
“This year I’m finally healthy. I can build off this. There’s also the world championships next year. I’m going to be dangerous. I expect big things in the next four years.”
