Kevin D. Mofokeng in Gaborone
It was raining hard in Tokyo when the Botswana men’s 4x400m relay team made history on Sunday, claiming gold at the World Athletics Championships and stunning the sprinting community.
Victory in those conditions felt especially auspicious. It rains so little in Botswana that the country’s people revere precipitation. The Setswana word for rain – pula – also means wealth or blessing, and lends its name to the country’s currency.
During the downpour, Lee Bhekempilo Eppie, Letsile Tebogo, Bayapo Ndori, and Busang Collen Kebinatshipi finished the race in 2:57.76, narrowly edging out the United States and South Africa.
The victory capped an extraordinary weekend for Kebinatshipi, who had earlier clocked 43.53 seconds in the individual 400m race, winning gold and setting a national record.
Back home, President Duma Boko declared 29 September a public holiday to celebrate the champions. The Bank of Botswana, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, announced that the relay heroes will be immortalised on a commemorative P50 banknote. “Every note will carry their faces into daily life, turning money into memory,” said the bank’s spokesperson.
Botswana will host the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone on 2 to 3 May next year, bringing the joy home at a time when the country’s sprinters are dominating the world.
Tebogo, the country’s most famous sportsperson, won Olympic gold in the 100m sprint last year and has held the Under-22 world record for that race since 2022. Pula!
These Tswana boys crashed the USA/Jamaica sprinting party. All 26 years or younger, much more to come from them.