Letsile Tebogo and Fred Kerley stirred up quite a storm at the Stade de France during the Paris Olympics.  Tebogo finished first in the men’s 200m event, clocking 19.42s, leaving everyone behind to chase his shadows. Kerley too, continued his fine form from Tokyo Olympics to clinch bronze at men’s 100m in 2024. Come the new year, track fans were expecting nothing but greatness from them. Did their performances meet expectations? Not quite. Coming to Tebogo, lined up against a stacked pool in the Xiamen Diamond League finals, he faltered. While Akani Simbine clinched the gold, Tebogo did not even make it to the podium. Running a modest time of 10.20s, Tebogo finished seventh, leaving his fans fuming. What about Kerley?

Kerley’s season opener itself cast a shadow of doubt about his form. He dropped 10.23s to win the men’s 100m USC Trojan Invitational. A winner, but at what cost? His time left fans scratching their heads. He then took part in the Grand Slam Track. And surely enough, Kerley’s poor form continued. Running the 100m and the 200m disciplines, Kerley finished seventh and third in both categories, respectively. So, is this it for the track sensations? Justin Gatlin disagrees!

In a recent episode of the Ready Set Go podcast, Gatlin doubled down on how things have been going for the two. Gatlin opined that Tebogo has not yet come out full blast. In fact, he is working to get his endurance up for the 400s. According to Gatlin, the 200m gold medalist is still adding to his peak timing this season. “So he’s doing 400s very well and he’s doing 200s as well. And he’s kind of just rounding into his season. So to watch him go out there and run 10.2, 10.3, whatever like that, I’m not too worried about Tebogo,” Gatlin opined. Surely, Tebogo did run a 400m race to increase his endurance. Competing at the Maurie Plant Meet, Tebogo did well to finish in second place, with a timing of 45.26s. He further stated that Tebogo will surely show up when the time is right for him to do so. 

Gatlin further stated that there was no reason for the fans to freak out and think that these are post-Olympics blues. Moving on, the US track legend also had similar thoughts about Fred Kerley. While Gatlin acknowledged the fact that Kerley did not run well in the GST, his 10.30s time was quite similar to Tebogo’s. But competing in the Mt. SAC Relays, Kerley won the 400m race with a time of 44.73s. Thus, as per Gatlin, there is nothing to worry. “He ran a comparable time to Tebogo, which was a 10.30. Tobo ran a 10.20 but we both know that they’re both in 400 meter shape right now. And they could dump into the 200 when it’s time for them,” concluded Gatlin. Meanwhile, it looks like Letsile Tebogo too, knows fully well that he has not been up to the mark. Thus, in a recent interaction, Tebogo spoke about pushing his limits further.

Letsile Tebogo refuses to slow down as he chases new limits in 2025

“I believe I can outrun it,” he joked, smiling at a young fan’s question about racing a cheetah. But behind Letsile Tebogo’s lighthearted wit is a sprinter dead serious about testing his own speed limits. The Olympic 200m champion isn’t resting on the historic high of Paris 2024. Instead, he’s diving headfirst into a jam-packed 2025, determined to sharpen every edge of his athletic prowess.

Now 21 and more self-assured than ever, Tebogo has thrown himself into all three sprint distances—100m, 200m, and 400m—early in the season, jetting across continents to compete. “It’s going to be a very long season,” he admitted. However, Letsile further added, “But I’m more experienced and mature and I’m ready to push my body to its limits and make every moment count.” His calendar is already stacked. From Melbourne to Xiamen, Shanghai to Doha, he’s refusing to settle, constantly measuring himself against the world’s best.

For Tebogo, it’s no longer about proving he belongs—it’s about how far he can go. With the World Championships in Tokyo looming and the Diamond League underway, the question is no longer whether he can deliver on the big stage. It’s how much further this national hero can stretch the boundaries of what’s possible.