Botswana’s sprint star Letsile Tebogo has booked his place in the men’s 200-meter semi-finals at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
On Wednesday, the Olympic champion clocked 20.18 seconds to finish second in his heat behind reigning world champion Noah Lyles. While the result was enough to secure safe passage, Tebogo wasn’t fully satisfied with his performance.
Running from lane nine, he admitted struggling with his form around the curve and described the race as “terrible” despite the strong finish.
After crossing the line, Tebogo lightened the mood with a playful jog and a few jokes, later explaining it was his way of shaking off the disappointment of missing out on the 100m final earlier in the week due to a false start. The two-day break, he said, left his body feeling flat.
A Stronger Performance Ahead
Looking ahead to Thursday’s semi-finals and the Friday final, the 22-year-old promised a much sharper run.
“The curve will be a lot better from me,” Tebogo said with confidence. “It’s going to look very different.”
The Tokyo crowd may well see a return of the explosive form that carried him to Olympic gold in Paris last year. With his determination and unfinished business on the track, Tebogo has made it clear he’s aiming for the podium once again.