Botswana’s Tebogo makes history, wins first Africa 10Om World champs medal
Botswana’s Leslie Tebogo has made history as the first African man to win a World Athletics Championships 100m medal after scorching to a 9.88 lifetime best to win the silver behind USA’s Noah Lyles (9.83) while Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes (9.88) won the bronze.
Namibia’s Frankie Fredericks made the first attempt in 1993 but ended up in fifth position before improving to fourth in 1995 and 1997, the best position Nigeria’s Olusoji Fasuba and South Africa’s Akani Simbine managed to equal in 2007 and 2019 respectively.
With all pre-championships eyes on Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala as the first African to break the curse, as it were, it is Tebogo, the two-time World U20 champion that did it.
His 9.88 seconds run is a Botswana record and the fifth fastest by an African