100m silver medallist, Letsile Tebogo said his decision to quit social media helped him to make history as the first Botswana athlete to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships.
Tebogo put in a strong performance in the men’s 100m final in Budapest on Sunday, to finish second with a national record of 9.88 seconds behind USA’s Noah Leyles.
The 20-year-old, who holds the African record in men’s 200m, left social media to focus on his training which paid off with his achievement as the first Botswana athlete win a medal at the world championships.
“Going off social media was a huge thing to do. It wasn’t easy,” Tebogo told BBC Sport Africa. “I tried my best to stay out of it. Here is the result.
“Everybody is saying whatever they feel like saying, so that [can affect] me mentally. Then I just decided, ‘no’ – to let go of social media.”
Tebogo and Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala were the two Africans who qualified for the men’s 100m final after South Africa’s Akani Simbine was disqualified in the semi-final for a false start.
Simbine was the only African athlete that featured in men’s 100m final in 2017, 2019 and 2022, and Tebogo has dedicated his silver medal to him.
“If it was possible for me to have moved for Akani, I would have moved out of that lane,” he added.
“[Simbine] has been doing this for a long time and leading for the African continent, so I’d really move out of that lane for him to run that race.
“I dedicate this medal to him because he has been a great brother. Every time we meet, [it is] motivating to get the job done.”
