- President Duma Boko declares Monday, September 29, a public holiday.
- Botswana wins men’s 4×400m relay, beating the US and South Africa.
- Victory marks the first African win in the event.
- Botswana finishes fifth overall with the best medal haul.
- Comes after Tebogo’s historic Olympic gold in 2024.
President Duma Boko has praised Botswana’s men’s 4×400m relay team after their historic gold at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. In his address, he described the win as a “historic African victory” and declared September 29 a national holiday to mark the achievement, just a day before Independence Day.
“Botswana’s natural diamonds are not just in the ground, they are our World Champion athletes,” President Boko said from New York, where he was attending the UN General Assembly.
On Sunday, the quartet of Lee Bhekempilo Eppie, Letsile Tebogo, Bayapo Ndori, and Busang Collen Kebinatshipi shocked the world by beating the United States, which had dominated the event for a decade. South Africa finished third in the wet and dramatic final.
The win pushed Botswana to its best-ever medal tally at the championships. The country finished fifth overall, collecting two golds, one silver, and a bronze. President Boko described the team’s performance as “electric” and said it showed Botswana’s growing stature in global sport.
This latest success comes after Letsile Tebogo’s 2024 Olympic gold medal in Paris, where he became the first African sprinter to win the men’s 200m. His triumph sparked nationwide celebrations, with tens of thousands welcoming him home in Gaborone. The government even declared a half-day holiday in his honour.
Back-to-back victories are now being seen as proof of Botswana’s rise in world athletics. From Tebogo’s Olympic heroics to the relay team’s championship win, the country is building a proud legacy that goes beyond its borders.
