GABORONE, Botswana – Tens of thousands of people packed a stadium in Botswana to welcome sprinter Letsile Tebogo home, with the country’s first ever Olympic gold medal.
Rapturous supporters waved the country’s blue-and-black national flag as the Olympic team touched down in the capital, Gaborone, on Tuesday.
The athletes paraded the National Stadium on a rooftop bus, waving at fans enjoying a half-day holiday declared by the president to celebrate Tebogo’s success.
The 21-year-old became the first African to win the men’s 200m when he stormed clear past Americans Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles in Paris on 8 August.
He set an African record time of 19.46 seconds and along with his teammates, he gained a silver in the men’s 4x400m relay, boosting Botswana’s total Olympic medal tally to four.
Before Tuesday’s celebration at the stadium, hundreds of supporters from the southern African country gathered at Gaborone’s airport to get the first glimpse of their Olympic team.
Traditional dancers wearing animal skins and beads were there to start the party as the athletes appeared.
President Mokgweetsi Masisi exhibited some of his own moves, dancing on the tarmac as an aide held an umbrella to shelter him from the sun.
From the airport, the athletes were transported to greet a much bigger crowd at the national stadium.
After winning the 200m, Tebogo dedicated his gold medal to his mother Seratiwa, who died in May after a brief illness, and held up his spikes, displaying her date of birth, to the camera, following his victory.
“It’s basically me carrying her through every stride that I take inside the field,” Tebogo said.
“To take her [with me], it gives me a lot of motivation. She’s watching up there, and she’s really, really happy.”
