- American sprint legend Justin Gatlin has selected Letsile Tebogo as the 2024 athletics MVP
- The Botswana sprinter won the 200m gold medal at the Paris Olympics, his country's first, after beating favourite Noah Lyles
- The 21-year-old clocked 19.46 seconds, the fifth fastest time in history and narrowly lost the Diamond League trophy
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Retired American sprinter Justin Gatlin has picked Botswana star Letsile Tebogo as the male track MVP of 2024.
The Botswana sprinter defeated Noah Lyles to win the 200m gold medal at the Paris Olympics and nearly won the Diamond League title.
Tebogo lost his mother in May and wasn't expected to win a medal at the Paris Olympics. He reached the 100m final but finished sixth.
In the 200m, he produced an epic performance to beat Americans Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek to win gold, the first by an African.
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It was also Botswana's first-ever gold medal at the Olympic Games. He clocked 19.46 seconds, the fifth-fastest time in history, per World Athletics.
Although he narrowly lost the Diamond League title to Bednarek, it was an incredible year for Tebogo—definitely his best—and he's still only 21.
Gatlin picks Tebogo
Speaking on the Ready Set Go podcast, Gatlin, the 100m Olympic champion in 2004, selected the young sprinter as the MVP of the season.
Tebogo started the season with a 300m world record, followed it up with the fastest 400m time at 44.2, and then dropped a hot 200m not too long after that," he said.
"He finished it all by running 9.8 in the 100m and coming back and running 19.4 in getting the 200m gold. He definitely had an MVP-level season for sure."
The sprinter received a hero's welcome when he returned to his country after the gold medal and is expected to have an even better season in 2025.
Noah Lyles congratulates Tebogo
Earlier, TUKO.co.ke reported that Lyles congratulated Tebogo after the Botswanan athlete defeated him in the 200m final at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Lyles took to his official X account to send a heartfelt message to Tebogo, acknowledging his victory despite a challenging year marked by the loss of his mother.
The 100m Olympic champion commended Tebogo's resilience and success.
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