Tebogo delivers Olympic glory for Africa and late mother

Botswana's Letsile Tebogo on Thursday became the first African to win the Olympic 200 metres, upstaging pre-race favourite Noah Lyles' plans for a sprint double in Paris.

Letsile Tebogo has always said an Olympic medal would not just be for Botswana but the continent of Africa and he duly delivered on Thursday by becoming the first African to be crowned 200m Olympic champion.

The 21-year-old produced a stunning run in Paris to leave pre-race favourite Noah Lyles trailing in third.

In fact, Tebogo is only the second athlete from Africa to even win a medal in the 200m.

Namibian Frankie Fredericks had blazed the way for Tebogo by winning the second of his two silvers in Atlanta in 1996.

Tebogo set an African record of 19.46sec in the Stade de France to put the cherry on the cake.

"Africans were known for the long distance, marathon, and quarter mile," Tebogo told NBC earlier this year.

"I just wanted to change that role and make sure that (people know) Africans can be sprinters too."

Tebogo is proud of his background and listens to traditional Botswanan songs prior to races.

He also operates on a set of strong principles.

"Respect and dedication to what you do," he said. "(It's important) to show people how the culture is.

"Letsile has always been a hyperactive child," she said.

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