Hundreds of Batswana including children, elderly, and enthusiastic supporters proudly waved Botswana’s sky blue and black national flag as the country’s Olympic team touched down in the capital, Gaborone.
The citizens gathered at the small airport, taking advantage of an impromptu half-day holiday declared by President Mokgweetsi Masisi to celebrate Tebogo’s remarkable achievement.
Before welcoming the athletes, President Masisi danced on the tarmac, shaded from the sun by an aide holding an umbrella.
Tebogo, 21, made history as the first African to win the men’s 200m, setting a new African record with a time of 19.46 seconds, as he sped past Americans Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles in Paris on August 8.
Tebogo’s gold medal, along with a silver in the men’s 4x400m relay, brought Botswana’s total Olympic medal count to four.
Outside the airport, traditional dancers dressed in animal skins and beads kicked off a vibrant welcoming ceremony that would later continue at the national stadium.
On August 9, the day after Tebogo’s victory, Masisi had already granted the nation’s 2.3 million people a half-day off to celebrate.
Tebogo is only the second African athlete to win an Olympic medal in the men’s 200m, following Namibian Frankie Fredericks, who took silver in Atlanta in 1996.
Botswana’s Olympic journey began in 2012 at the London Games, where Nijel Amos won the country’s first medal, a silver in the 800m. The men’s 4x400m relay team added a bronze at Tokyo 2020.
Botswana’s success at the Paris Olympics contributed to Africa’s overall medal haul of 39, two more than at the Tokyo Games, with Kenya taking 11 medals in the French capital.
Notably, half of the men’s 200m finalists where Tebogo excelled were African athletes, signaling the continent’s rising prowess in shorter events, complementing its long-established dominance in longer distances.
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