Botswana have secured a silver medal in the men’s 4x400m relay at the Paris Olympics, setting a new African record in the process.
The United States took gold with an Olympic record time of 2:54.43, while Great Britain claimed bronze with a European record of 2:55.83.
Botswana’s team, anchored by 200m champion Letsile Tebogo, finished the race in style, improving on their bronze medal performance from Tokyo.
The race began with Bayapo Ndori putting Botswana in the lead after the first leg. The British team briefly took over before American Bryce Deadmon delivered a strong third leg.
In a thrilling finale, Tebogo went head-to-head with American Rai Benjamin. Despite sitting on Benjamin’s shoulder and looking poised to overtake, Tebogo’s sprint speed was not quite enough to surpass the American’s endurance over 400m.
The quality of the race was evident throughout the field, with fourth-placed Belgium and fifth-placed South Africa setting national records, while Japan, in sixth, established a new Asian record.
Notably absent from the US team was Quincy Hall, their individual 400m gold medallist in Paris.
The performance marks a significant achievement for Botswana, solidifying their place among the world’s top 4x400m relay teams. Tebogo, who was drafted in at the last minute to run the first leg for Botswana in Friday’s heats, demonstrated his versatility by anchoring the team in the final.
This silver medal adds to Botswana’s growing Olympic legacy in athletics, following their bronze in the same event at the Tokyo Games.
