American sprint legend Justin Gatlin has praised Letsile Tebogo calling his 2024 track season flawless and MVP-worthy for outstanding performance.
Retired American sprinter Justin Gatlin believes Letsile Tebogo deserves an MVP Award after starring in the just-concluded athletics season.
Gatlin, who won gold in the 2004 Olympics in 100m, is impressed by the manner in which the fast-rising athlete has hit the ground running in his budding career.
The 21-year-old won gold in 200m in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, handing Botswana its first-ever gold medal in the quadrennial championship.
Tebogo, who won a silver at the 2023 World championships in 100m, beat a quality field in the French capital, crossing the finish line in 19.46 seconds to claim the gold. His victory led to a holiday being declared in Botswana to celebrate his feat.
The 2022 200m African champion who is nicknamed School-boy, has held the world U-20 record in 100m since April 2022. Gatlin, a two-time 100m champion in the World Championships, said Tebogo’s figures are ridiculous and has what it takes to earn an MVP award.
“The numbers are there. He started the season off with a 300m world record then he backdoored with the world’s fastest time at that point in time and 400m by 44.2 seconds,” Gatlin, who boasts of two World Athletics Relays gold medals, said.
“I don’t even know what that month was. That was something ridiculous like December, something crazy. Then he dropped a hot 200 and then getting the gold medal. He had a really MVPish season for sure”.
Tebogo’s remarkable season also included breaking the 300m world record with a time of 30.69 seconds at altitude in Pretoria, South Africa, in February 2024.
He also contributed to Botswana’s success in the 4x400m relay, helping the team win gold at the World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas and Silver at the Olympics.
