Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo had to fight harder than expected to reach the men’s 200m final at the Tokyo World Championships. He ran the distance in 19.95 seconds, and while this is a fairly good time, Tebogo was pretty disappointed. It wasn’t just the race time that troubled him. But also the lane. Now, with Noah Lyles and the rest of the field ready for the final, Tebogo has narrowly avoided a repeat of his semifinal nightmare. However, the pressure to get it right this time is higher than ever.

Tebogo was really unhappy with the ninth lane. Talking to the media following the 200m semifinal race, he stated, “I will say I’m happy but I ran a terrible race. First time running in Lane 9; didn’t know how to do it.” But he seemed to have faith about getting a better lane in the final race. He continued, “I believe tomorrow is going to be a different personnel… We need a good lane in the final.” And Letsile Tebogo barely escaped running in the outer lanes once again.  

Track & Field Gazette recently shared the lane assignments for the men’s 200m final at the Tokyo 2025 World Championships. And guess what! Letsile Tebogo is not in the eighth or ninth lane. Instead, he’ll run in the fifth lane, the lane that’s considered the best one according to many. And who knows… we might even witness the Botswana sprinter surpass Noah Lyles’ 19.51-second run. After all, Tebogo was almost ready to compromise if he got an outer lane. 

The outer lanes usually isolate the athletes by taking their opponents out of their peripheral vision. And according to Tebogo, maintaining the same speed at the curve was also difficult. He claimed that it felt like he was shifting away from the track. But it wasn’t just Tebogo who got a bad lane in the semifinals. Even Lyles had to run in the seventh lane, which has an awkward curve unlike the outermost lane. Yet, the American star pushed through the semifinals and now focuses on beating Tebogo and Kenny Bednarek. So, does he have a plan? 

Noah Lyles reveals his plan for beating Letsile Tebogo and others in 200m final

During a recent conversation with CITIUS MAG, Noah Lyles weighed in on his stance for the 200m race finale. He confessed that his 100m and 200m races don’t translate one-on-one. It means if his 100m races are exceptional, his performance in the 200m races would go down, and vice versa. Nevertheless, there’s still a bit of positivity left in him. He claimed, “Obviously, I have the energy, obviously I have the motivation. I don’t plan to lose; I plan to go out there full force, jump off the cliff, so to say, with all enthusiasm into this race.”

But Tebogo isn’t someone who backs down easily. Remember the 200m race at the Paris Olympics? Tebogo overcame the sad passing of his mother and secured the gold medal (clocked 19.46) by defeating Kenny Bednarek (19.62) and Noah Lyles (19.70). And the reason? It was the flurry of emotions flowing through him, all about her mother. He even wore her date of birth on his spikes. Talking to the media after the win, he said, “It’s basically me carrying her through every stride that I take inside the field.”

With Lyles, Tebogo, Bednarek, and Levell, the final race will be one of the most exciting events in the Tokyo World Championships. But who has the potential to win the championship title this time? Let’s keep the conversation flowing in the comments down below.