Letsile Tebogo may have won gold medals but he says he is not the face of international sprinting.
Tebogo won the 200m final on Thursday, beating Americans Kenny Bednarek (silver) and Noah Lyles (bronze), who revealed he had tested positive for COVID-19 before the race.
When asked by a reporter after his 19.46-second run if he was now one of the faces of the sport, he said the attention wasn’t on him, it was actually on Lyles.
“I don’t think I can be the face of athletics because I’m not as arrogant or loud as Noah. [Lyles]”I believe Noah is the face of athletics,” Tebogo said.
It’s been a whirlwind week for Lyles, who won the 100m final on Sunday in a photo finish with a time of 9.784 seconds.
The day after the race, Lyles said he was “pretty confident” he could win more gold medals at the 2024 Olympics.
2024 Paris Olympics
“I’m pretty confident right now, so I’m not going to lie,” he said.[Bednarek] Definitely a fast time [U.S.] “He did great in the trials and that was a wake-up call for me,” Lyles said. “I’m so proud of him. He’s not going to settle for the 100. He’s going to say, ‘I’m going to give it my all in the 200,’ because he knows he can give it his all.”
“But my job is to make sure that happens. I just leave it at that. I win.”
But despite bettering his semifinal time in the 200m final on Thursday, Lyles finished with the bronze medal behind Tebogo and Bednarek.
After the race, he collapsed to the ground and was eventually carried off the Stade de France track in a wheelchair, revealing that he had previously tested positive for COVID-19.
“I felt like I’ve run in worse conditions before, so I’ve been working hard day by day, staying as hydrated as possible,” she said after the race. “The quarantine life, I know it takes a toll, but I’ve never been more proud to come this far and win a bronze medal, after being so disappointed at the last Olympics.” [with a bronze medal]and this time around, I couldn’t be more proud.”
As for the remaining games at the Olympics, Lyles posted on Instagram that he will likely be done with the rest of his matches.
That means he will not compete in Friday’s 4x100m relay, leaving him with just one gold medal up for grabs at the Olympics.
