Lestile Tebogo, the 20-year-old athlete from Botswana, is the fastest man in history over the 300 m distance. A real feat which confirms the predispositions seen in the athlete. He is seen as one of the most promising runners on the circuit. In fact, since his debut, he has been compared to Usain Bolt.
Tebogo ran the 300 m at the Simbine Curro Classic Shoot-Out, held in Pretoria (South Africa) in 30, 69s, breaking the record for this unusual distance. It's also true that the distance is not standard. It is therefore not recognized as a world record. At least within World Athletics. Nevertheless, the performance is extraordinary. Not least because of the name that already held the record for this race. It was South African Wayde van Niekerk, who had held it since a race in Ostrava in 2017, when he completed ¾ of the lap in 30.89s.
To further measure the Botswana native's achievement and his promise in athletics, his time must also be compared with those achieved by the world's benchmarks in this race. Usain Bolt, 2 months shy of his 24th birthday, finished the distance in 30.97s. At the age of 32, Michael Johnson completed the 300m at 30.85 in Pretoria. All of which makes the comparison with Bolt increasingly logical.For the moment, he's the talk of the town. With this new performance, Tebogo has entered a new dimension and will be awaited this season to confirm his now undeniable talent. Below are the feats already achieved by the athlete.
Tebogo's current record at just 20 years of age
Victory in the 100 m, in 10.19s at the U20 World Athletics Championships in Nairobi;
2nd place in the 200 m, in 20, 38s at the World U20 Athletics Championships in Nairobi
Record 100 m, U20 category, with a time of 9.91, in Cali at the U20 World Championships in 2022;
He also set the U20 championship record in the 200 m, with a time of 19.99, although he finished 2nd in the final, also in Cali;
He holds the Botswana national 100 m record with a time of 9.88, set at the World Championships in Budapest in 2023.He finished silver medallist in the 100 m;
Leslie is the African 200m record holder with a time of 19.50s;
In 2023, at the World Championships in Budapest i, he also finished 3rd in the 200m, in 19, 81s.
LETSILE TEBOGO SMASHES THE WORLD 300M BEST IN 30.69 SECONDS!!!#SimbineCurroClassicShootout pic.twitter.com/SQXgqaXf4N
— Akani Simbine (@AkaniSimbine) February 17, 2024
