Letsile Tebogo pulled off a shock 200m gold medal win on Thursday – and delivered a savage verdict on Noah Lyles after defeating the American sprinter.
Lyles had confidently told reporters beforehand that he would win the race, and made an extremely bombastic entrance into the Stade de France as he jumped around and waved his arms towards the crowd.
But the American, who later revealed that he had Covid, finished third in the race as Tebogo led the pack and the sprinter from Botswana went on to call Lyles ‘arrogant’ and ‘loud.’
The newly-crowned 200m champion was asked whether he aspired to be the face of track and field, and claimed his more laid-back approach wouldn’t allow him to get to Lyles’ level of fame.
‘For me, I can’t be the face of athletics because I’m not an arrogant or loud person like Noah,’ he said.
Letsile Tebogo (right) called Lyles ‘arrogant’ and ‘loud’ after beating the American sprinter
Lyles confirmed after the race that he had COVID, and he was placed in a wheelchair
‘So I believe Noah’s the face of athletics.’
The remark caused Lyles’ USA teammate, Kenny Bednarek, who claimed silver in the race, to briefly crack a wry smile.
Lyles brashly predicted before the 200m that he would complete the double after winning gold in the 100m in a nail-biting finish.
‘None of them is winning. When I come off the turn, they will be depressed,’ he said.
However, that prediction aged poorly as Lyles labored to a third-place finish and was placed in a wheelchair moments after the race, clearly out of breath from his Covid diagnosis.
He later revealed that his Olympics were likely over as he took to Instagram to thank fans for their support.
Lyles had been set to compete in the 4×100 relay but said he ‘hope[d] everyone enjoyed the show.’
Lyles (back left) crossed the line in third place, despite being the red-hot favorite for the race
Lyles was clearly struggling for breath after finishing third in the event on Thursday
Tebogo’s mother died two months before the Games and he wore her date of birth on his shoes
Lyles told NBC, while masked up: ‘I woke up early about 5am Tuesday morning, feeling really horrible. I knew it was more than being sore from the 100. My first thought was not to panic, I’ve been in worse situations, I’ve been in worse conditions.
‘I took it day by day, tried to hydrate as much. It would say it has taken its toll, for sure, but I have never been more proud of myself coming out here and getting a bronze.’
Lyles later said that the other competitors were unaware of his diagnosis: ‘We tried to keep it close to our chest. The medical staff, my coach and my mom knew.
‘We didn’t want everybody to go into a panic. We wanted to be able to compete. We wanted to be able to make it discreet as possible and you don’t want to tell your competitors you are sick. Why would you give them an edge?’
For Tebogo, this was a particularly emotional night because it is only two months since he lost his mother, Seratiwa.
The 21-year-old did not train for a month, being struck with grief as he mourned the loss of his biggest cheerleader.
At the 2023 World Championships, Seratiwa had snuck in to the stands to watch Tebogo without him knowing.
In tribute to his mum, Tebogo wore shoes bearing his mother’s date of birth.
The 21-year-old said that the tibute was ‘me carrying her through every stride that I take’
‘It’s basically me carrying her through every stride that I take,’ he said. ‘Me, to take her, it gives me a lot of motivation.
‘I didn’t want to put the date of her death, because I’ll get emotional. I took about a month without doing anything. It wasn’t really clicking for me that she’s really gone. For me, I have to find the reason why I started my athletics journey and why I should continue going on.
‘(If she were here) I believe she could be one of the happiest people on the planet because she believed in me when I doubted myself.’
Indeed, one of his motivations for becoming an athlete in the first place was to help provide better for his family after all his mother’s sacrifices.
She once said: ‘Putting my interests on hold and emptying my savings just to be with him (is what I do).
‘Note that our relationship is more than that of mother and son, we are more brother and sister now –- more so that, for the longest time, it was just me and him.’
