In Doha on May 16, 2025, Letsile Tebogo opened his 200 m Diamond League campaign with a tight and impressive win. He crossed the finish in 20.10 s, just 0.01 s ahead of American Courtney Lindsey. But soon the tables turned. Just over a week later, at the Rabat Diamond League on May 25, Tebogo attempted a rare sprint double in both 100 and 200m. However, his 100 m suffered: he finished last in 10.43s, easing off on the final stretch. The track and field athlete cited injury struggles as he withdrew from the 200 m. So, before Eugene, Tebogo had triumph and drama in Doha, followed by a disappointing setback in Rabat. What went down in Eugene?
Letsile Tebogo was not only back from injury in the 2025 Prefontaine Classic, he was there to make a record. It was a stacked field in Eugene in the men’s 200m. Joseph Fahnbulleh, Courtney Lindsey, Alexander Ogando, Jereem Richards (TTO), and to triumph over them all – Letsile Tebogo. He ran a season best of 19.76s (0.7) to win the men’s 200m, also marking the fastest time of the season in the discipline. Courtney Lindsey was 2nd in 19.87s, while Alexander Ogando ran 19.94s to finish 3rd. What was Tebogo’s reaction to his performance?
After the win, the track and field athlete confessed, “For me, this is the tip of an iceberg…the 19.7 is a shock to me because we just recovered from an injury which took a lot of weeks of training, so I’m happy with how I performed today.” The 22-year-old athlete has an issue in his knee that caused him to take some rest after the Rabat Diamond League. He also said, “I believe in showing up, and those losses from the first Diamond Leagues, they built my character into a very confident man.” Other than Rabat, Tebogo finished 3rd, clocking 10.03s in the Shanghai Diamond League.
He also faced a setback when he placed 7th, with a time of 10.20s in the Diamond League in Xiamen. But these defeats were not able to break his character, especially with nationalism running deep in his veins. The Olympian further continued, “I’m carrying the whole Africa on my back because if I don’t do it, who’s going to do it for them? I mean, every athlete would want a medal, but for me, I just don’t want to put myself under that pressure, but definitely I’m going to show up and make sure that nobody feels comfortable when I’m around.” The 22-year-old is ready to elevate the competition, especially when he is the only one from Africa.
Out of all those athletes who raced in the 200 meters in the 2025 Prefontaine Classic, including Kenny Bednarek’s replacement, it was only Letsile Tebogo, representing Botswana, and Joseph Fahnbulleh, representing Liberia, who came from African countries. He then said that’s was happy to see his fellow citizens in the crowd. What about his injury, though? What problems did it cause?
Letsile Tebogo Struggles with Injury
“Today’s performance wasn’t what I had hoped for. I’m currently dealing with a recurring injury, which hasn’t been easy,” Letsile Tebogo said after his last-place finish in the Rabat Diamond League. But he is not a man who gives up. His statement continued as he said, “However, I’m channelling this disappointment and pain into resolve. I’m already focused on recovery and growth, and I know I will come back a stronger man. See y’all soon.”
Coach Kebonyemodisa Mosimanyane confirmed that Tebogo’s recurring injury centers around his knee, which flared up earlier in May, disrupting two weeks of training. “He has not been training well for the past two weeks due to discomfort in the knee,” the coach revealed. “We felt it was important not to risk further aggravation by racing in Rabat.” Yet after all of this, he came back and shattered the season record for the 200 meters. He even sent a request for the track and field community. Let us know your thoughts on his performance.
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