Why Lecille Tebogo is already the next Usain Bolt – Irish Times

There's an internal tendency in this industry to think that it's not always about being right or wrong, it's just about being first. This is all in the fun and games of Olympic predictions, such as where the medals will go and who will be the next big star.

You've probably heard some of them here for the first time.

Athletics Weekly has already tackled the issue, listing its Paris 2024 podium predictions in a 7,400-word online feature last week. Published since 1945, this paper is not lacking in history or experience on the subject, and it is important to note that the 48 medal competitions in athletics, track and road events to be held in Paris this summer (Athletics Program will be held from August 1st to 11th), their interpretation of the event includes the following: Some obvious firsts.

They also expect Ciara McGeeian to finish seventh, one place behind Britain's Laura Muir.

They point out from the outset that “many athletes could suddenly return to the top or make a big breakthrough,” and their predictions are largely based on last season, with the World Championships held in Glasgow earlier this month. Updated after the indoor championships.

Perhaps the first surprise is that despite losing to two British runners, Jake Wightman, in the 2022 and 2023 World Championship finals, Jakob Ingebrigtsen will be running in Tokyo. He will be defending his title and is probably expecting to win the men's 1500m. And Josh Carr.

The rivalry between Jacob and Josh has steadily deepened since then, even in a brutal war of words, and when the two clash on May 25th in the Bowerman Mile at Oregon's Prefontaine Classic, the Paris showdown will be a real challenge. There will be a good preview of what will happen.

In the latest race for the title of Earth's Fastest Man, Noah Lyles is expected to repeat his sprint double from last summer's World Championships.

Whatever their prediction is that Eliud Kipchoge will win his third consecutive Olympic marathon title (assuming he is selected to represent Kenya), given the performance of Kenyan athletes, Faith Kipyegon will win the women's 1,500 meters. It is no surprise that they predict that they will achieve an unprecedented Olympic triple crown. Runners dominated the event last year. They also expect Ciara McGeeian to finish seventh, one place behind Britain's Laura Muir. It may or may not be the first or last time Maggie Ann hears her prophecies, but my feeling is she won't care either way.

So in the women's 400m, this time it is read in a quieter tone, but they will be on the Olympic podium with Rashidat Adeleke finishing third behind the Bahamas' Shaunae Miller-Uibo, making it her third Olympic Chasing the gold medal, he predicts current world champion Marileidi Paulino. Originally from the Dominican Republic.

Of course, this will be a first for Irish female sprinters, and perhaps even a place in the Olympic sprint finals. However, there are predictions that the fastest women's runners in 2023, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of the United States and Femke Boll of the Netherlands, will only focus on the 400m hurdles. What's more certain is that he will definitely need a predicted third place time of 48.92 seconds to make it to the podium. Not the first time I heard it here.

In the latest race for the title of Earth's Fastest Man, Noah Lyles is expected to repeat his sprint double from last summer's World Championships, and the American runner still has a chance of winning, at least for now. There is.

But if there's one player who can upset Lyles, it's Lesil Tebogo, a 20-year-old from Botswana. Some are already predicting that he could become the next Usain Bolt.

Tebogo, who hails from the southern African country of just over 2.3 million people, has suggested in the last two races alone that Paris could be his chance to light up the Olympics the way Bolt did for the first time in Beijing in 2008. Once again, this Jamaican athlete burst onto the Olympic stage. As when I was 20 years old.

Others were making predictions last month when Tebogo broke the 300m world record in Pretoria by running 30.69 seconds.

Last Monday in Pretoria, Tebogo ran the 400 meters in 44.29 seconds, bettering his previous best of 44.75 seconds, but still looking like he was out for a jog. His potential is truly terrifying.

Others were making predictions last month when Tebogo also broke the 300m world record in Pretoria by running 30.69 seconds. His time beats South African 400m world record holder Wade van Niekerk's record of 30.81 seconds set in 2017, and beats Michael Johnson's 30.85 seconds (set in 2000) and Bolt's It was significantly faster than 30.97 seconds (2010).

After watching Tebogo run there, Johnson posted on his X handle: The hype and promises often fade away. But Letsile Tebogo is one of the few players I would bet on!”

Tebogo is definitely one of those rare sprint talents that only come along once in a generation. He won the 100m title at his first international championship in 2021 at the Under-20 World Championships in Nairobi, and in April 2022 became the first Botswanan to break 10 seconds.

And last year in Budapest, she won a medal in the 100m at the World Championships in 9.88 seconds, second to Lyles, and became the first African sprinter to win bronze in the 200m as well.

My prediction is that Letsile Tebogo is already done teeth Next Usain Bolt. You heard it here first.