Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo became the first African to win a gold medal in the men’s 200m after defeating two United States of America sprinters in the final at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The 21-year-old broke the African record after finishing first in 19.46 seconds, ahead of Americans Kenneth Bednarek and the event’s favourite Noah Lyles.
This led Botswana’s president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, to declare a ‘half-day public holiday’ across the country to celebrate the sprinter after winning the gold medal in the 200m race.
“Public Holiday in Botswana The president of Botswana has declared a ‘half-day public holiday’ across the country to celebrate Letsile Tebogo, the country’s first athlete to win a GOLD medal at the Olympics,” he declared.
The President added, “Botswana citizens will get an ‘afternoon day off’ on Friday as a tribute to Tebogo who brought joy to their country on Thursday, winning the GOLD medal in men’s 200m; the first African to win this title.”