At just 22, Letsile Tebogo has asserted his dominance on the track in a way that he became an epitome for the aspiring athletes. “I wanted to make a breakthrough for African athletes,” said Tebogo in an interview with Olympics.com back in May 2025. Crowned Athlete of the Year in 2024, his journey has only begun, yet he’s already become the face of a new African sprint revolution. And now, with the next generation of athletes calling him their inspiration, Tebogo’s dream of empowering Africa’s future stars is well underway.

Sitting down with The Puma on their Go Wild podcast, episode 12, was South Africa’s teenage sensation, Bayanda Walaza, a 19-year-old rewriting history before he’s even finished high school. With an Olympics silver medal in the men’s 4x100m relay, he became the first South African ever to win an Olympic medal while still a student. But Bayanda didn’t stop there; he blazed through the track at the World Athletics U20 Championships in 2024 to claim double gold in the 100m and 200m, proving that the future of African sprinting has already arrived.

When asked about his role models in the sport, the 19-year-old paused for a moment before revealing two names that inspire him, one of them being none other than Letsile Tebogo himself, “I’ll say on top, I’m looking at Letsile Tebogo, you know, who’s been showing up very good. And also he’s a one-person who does things the way he wants them to go. You know, he doesn’t actually listen to what people say and do it. He just goes with what makes him feel right.”

His words couldn’t have rung truer. At just 22, Letsile Tebogo emerged as the pride of Botswana, a nation once starved of track and field glory. Rising from a medal drought to his dominance, Tebogo’s journey now shines, cementing his place as one of the greatest sprinters his country has ever produced.

Well, he does not just run on the track for medals, but he has his own way to inspire the future generation. Back in September, the Olympic champion stepped into a different kind of arena, Minato City Takanawadai Elementary School in Tokyo. There, Tebogo led a Kids’ Athletics session, inspiring young children to chase their dreams. Indeed, Tebogo is becoming the face of track and field.

The second athlete Walaza mentioned was none other than his compatriot, Gift Leotlela. Speaking about him, Walaza said, “And then the second one, I’ll say, Gift Leotlela, you know, he’s a South African sprinter and he’s been pulling up for the country. And what I’ve learned about him is like persistent. You know, he’s been focused and he never lost focus. He got a lot of injuries in life. But the way he came back actually shows that, you know, if you actually want something, you can actually go for it.”

With African athletes rising to global prominence, Tebogo has played a key role in ensuring the next generation recognizes the greatness of the continent. Interestingly, his plan was always clear: to dominate the world of track and field, and in the meantime, he now wants an all-African champion lineup.

Letsile Tebogo dreams of an All-African lineup

Between 1984 and Paris 2024, the world of track and field has been dominated by either the US or Jamaica. Both of these nations captured eight of the ten Olympic 200m golds, interrupted only by Canada’s Andre De Grasse in Tokyo 2020 and Greece’s Konstantinos Kenteris in Sydney 2000. No African had ever claimed Olympic gold in the 200m until the world witnessed the rise of Letsile Tebogo. Coming in hot at the Paris Olympics, the athlete made sure to break the curse and get the gold, and now that he has the gold, he wants the rise of the African continent.

“Africans are stepping up, and we see an increased number of African athletes in global competitions,” he explained. “I dream of an all-African lineup at the Olympics one day. It’s still early days, but I’ve definitely seen athletes shed a layer of self-doubt. They are no longer afraid of coming forward to showcase their talent.”

For Tebogo, this shift in African sprinting goes beyond mere success. With more and more talent coming out of Kenya, Botswana, and South Africa, Tebogo’s dream might become a reality sooner or later.