President Mokgweetsi Masisi granted Botswana a half-day off on Friday to celebrate Letsile Tebogo, the nation’s first gold medallist and the first African to win the 200-metre Olympic title.
Masisi praised the 21-year-old sprinter, calling him “Botswana’s Sensation” after his remarkable performance at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.
“Botswana’s finest sporting moment,” declared the MMegoi newspaper, following Tebogo’s impressive victory in the 200m, where he left pre-race favorite Noah Lyles in third place.
Adding to the triumph, Tebogo set a new African record with a time of 19.46 seconds.
President Masisi stated that Tebogo’s accomplishment would be “etched in the annals of the history of the republic.”
Social media was abuzz with videos of students at the University of Botswana celebrating, and people across the country expressed their pride on platforms like X and Facebook.
“History made!” Masisi exclaimed on his X account. “My voice is completely gone thanks to the phenomenal #LetsileTebogo.”
Masisi also honored Tebogo’s late mother, his biggest supporter, who passed away in May. She had secretly traveled to Budapest to watch her son win world championship medals last year.
Tebogo is only the second African athlete to win a medal in the 200m and the first to take gold.