Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo is looking to continue his late season winning streak at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme 2024 – the two-day Wanda Diamond League meeting in Brussels this weekend.
Tebogo, who has been in excellent form since the end of the Paris 2024 games, said at the Brussels Diamond League press conference on Thursday that he’s prepared to run in any weather conditions.
The 21-year-old from Botswana, who won the men’s 200m gold and 4x400m relay silver medal with his country at the Paris 2024 Olympics, will take part in Saturday’s 200m final of the 2024 Wanda Diamond League series.
Letsile Tebogo has won in all five of his appearances on the track since he returned to competition after the summer Olympics in Paris.
With an African record of 19:46 he set in Paris last month, Tebogo was celebrated back in Gaborone with an incredible homecoming party and national holiday.
“I really felt the support and appreciation from the entire African continent,” he said, before returning to Europe to continue his success story with Wanda Diamond League wins in Lausanne, Silesia, Rome and Zurich as well as a meet win in Brescia.
Tebogo won the 100m at Golden Gala in Rome before returning to his favourite 200m at subsequent Diamond League meetings.
“The 200 metres is absolutely my favourite distance,” he explained. “The 100 metres is much more tactical and technical. You can’t afford to make any mistakes. In the 200 metres you have more room to rectify small errors.
“A lot of people were surprised that I went to Brescia after Zurich, but I needed that race. It also taught me that I can also run well and win in more difficult weather conditions.That was the conclusion after Zurich, where the weather wasn’t great and nobody probably believed I could run a 19:55.”
In Brussels, Jamaican Yohan Blake holds the meeting record of 19:26 secs which he set in 2011. Will it be within reach on Saturday? “It’s also pretty cold here, but I am prepared,” Tebogo said. “I still feel good at the end of the season, so we will see what happens.
“Winning the Wanda Diamond League final would really be the cherry on top of this amazing season with an Olympic title. I would love to finish in style on Saturday with a trophy.”
