Tebogo Letsile Reacts to Being Called the New Face of Athletics After Defeating Noah Lyles in 200m Sprint
Tebogo Letsile, the star sprinter from Botswana, made history on August 8 by winning the gold medal in the 200m sprint, defeating American athlete Noah Lyles. This victory not only brought pride to his home country but also to the African continent as a whole.
Following his win in the men’s 200m final, Tebogo was asked if he aspires to break world records and become the new face of track and field.
In response, Tebogo humbly stated, “I can’t be the face of athletics because I’m not an arrogant or loud person like Noah (Lyles).”
This interview quickly went viral on social media, sparking a wave of mixed reactions.
“As an African and a speaker of English as a second language, I perfectly understand what Tebogo says here. I don’t believe he actually meant to call Noah arrogant in a negative way. I think he just meant to say he’s not as loud as Noah and doesn’t carry the same positive arrogance (energy) as Noah. Knowing Tebogo, he’s quite humble and respectful, and I don’t think he intended any disrespect toward Noah,” a Twitter user explained.
Another user chimed in, “This is an English translation mistake – it’s not a malicious statement.”
