Botswana’s sprint sensation, Letsile Tebogo, made a stunning debut at the Doha Diamond League, blazing to victory in the men’s 200m on Friday, 16 May.
The 21-year-old, fresh off his Paris 2024 Olympic triumph, clocked 20.10 seconds to clinch the win in a thrilling sprint showdown. It wasn’t without drama, though, as Tebogo allowed himself a glance over his shoulder in the dying metres — a move that nearly cost him the race.
The moment of hesitation opened the door for Courtney Lindsey of the USA, charging from Lane 8 with a powerful late surge. Lindsey crossed the line a mere 0.01 seconds behind Tebogo in 20.11, nearly snatching a last-gasp victory in one of the tightest finishes of the evening.
Lindsey notably edged Tebogo in Nairobi last April in a memorable head-to-head where both sprinters ran 19.71 seconds into a 1.5m/s headwind. Despite clocking one of the fastest times of the year then, Lindsey finished sixth at last year’s U.S. Olympic Trials.
Another American, Joseph Fahnbulleh, claimed third place in 20.26, while Canada’s Aaron Brown — a 4x100m relay gold medallist at Paris 2024 — finished fourth in 20.35. Filippo Tortu of Italy, who was part of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold-winning relay squad, came in fifth with 20.41.
The Doha race marked the first men’s 200m contest of this year’s Diamond League season and Tebogo’s first-ever appearance in the Qatari capital. Despite having run the distance only once before this season — a victory at the Botswana Grand Prix in April with 20.23 — Tebogo proved he’s still the man to beat.
This performance marked a sharp turnaround for Tebogo, who had looked far from his best in the Diamond League opener on April 26, where he clocked a pedestrian 10.20 seconds to finish 7th in the 100m. A week later in Keqiao, he showed signs of resurgence with a 10.03 third-place finish in the 100m.
Tebogo famously clocked a blistering 19.46 seconds last summer to claim Olympic gold and become the fifth-fastest man in history over 200m. While he wasn’t chasing record times in Doha, his effortless run and mid-race glance spoke volumes about his confidence and current form.
