04 Mar 2025

Botswana 200m men Olympic champion, Letsile Tebogo has been nominated for the 2025 Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award.

This will be a tough competition with Bayer 04 Leverkusen Football Club, 100 metres women Olympic Champion Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia, Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh in the category. There is also French basketball player, Victor Wembanyama as well as Spain and Barcelona FC football wonder kid Lamine Yamal.

Tebogo had a great season as he dominated the track and the icing on the cake was when he was announced World Athlete of the Year and Male World Athlete of the Year during the World Athletics Awards. Now the debate across the entire social media platform is whether Botswana’s finest sprinter could beat other competitors and bring home the prestigious award.

Sunday Standard newspaper Sport editor, Botlhale Koothopile argued that the local lad is not just a number, he is a strong contender.

“If this was another year, he would be guaranteed to walk away with the title. He deserves it,” Koothopile said.

By all standards, he said, Tebogo had a brilliant season, adding that had it been any other person, given the challenges he faced, they would have folded, but not him. Koothopile said the fact that he was now in the conversations of ‘The face of athletics’ alongside American 100m Olympic champion, Noah Lyles was a testament to the kind of season he had.

He however said he faced tough competition for the title as another nominee, Wembanyama, had also had a great season as NBA’s reigning Rookie of the Season and tipped to be ‘The face of NBA.’

“With the numbers he has been churning out, it is no surprise he is touted as a potential face of the NBA,” Koothopile said.

He further said Alfred also had a good season on the track, adding that having won the women’s 100m Gold and 200m Silver Olympic medalist was no small feat.

“She literally came from nowhere to blow up the track in 2024. She then went on to win the Diamond League. Given, the St Lucian has earned her badges to be in this stellar cast of breakthrough stars. It will be deserved if she wins the award,” he said.

Talking about Lamine, he said his talent belies his age and he was the only young footballer who had captured minds after Argentina’s Lionel Messi. Koothopile said at just a tender age of 17, Lamine was already an influential player in the Spanish senior football national team.

He said he was very influential when Spain won the UEFA Euro 2024 championship, and it did not come as a surprise that he was voted the UEFA Euro 2024 Young player of the tournament.

“He has also been awarded the Golden Boy title for 2024 and has many individual accolades as well. If he wins the award, no one can begrudge him,” he said.

About McIntosh, Koothopile said the 18 year-old is already a three-time Olympic gold medalist, all won at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Koothopile said McIntosh also won a silver to make it a four-medal haul at the Paris Olympics, and therefore that sums up McIntosh’s season, a prodigious talent that cannot be ignored.

In addition, he said McIntosh’s was not just one for the future; the teenager was for the now. Her breakthrough season was a success in every way.

“For me, these young talents all deserve this award. I cannot separate them. But as a patriotic Motswana, I’ll be sad if Letsile does not get it. I believe this will be the closest vote in a very long time and all the nominated athletes are worthy of the award,” he said .

As for Leverkusen, while they were invincible in the Bundesliga, Koothopile said he believed they would be the least favourites. ENDS