Letsile Tebogo has shared how his mother, Seratiwa Tebogo’s loss damaged him and how his bounce-back journey has become difficult.
The reigning Olympic champion has always been vocal about how his late mother was a huge pillar of support in his career and how he shaped him to be one of the greatest athletes. Unfortunately, she never lived to see the 21-year-old become one of the world’s most loved and talented athletes.
In a recent post on his Instagram stories, Tebogo opened up about how he lost himself and how fighting back to become himself is a huge task. He shared a photo of himself with his late mother on a podium as she raised a trophy seemingly gifted to the youngster for his exploits.
A breakdown of the millions Letsile Tebogo has earned since the start of the season when he broke the 300m world best to his recent race, the Grand Prix Lombardia as he focuses on the Diamond League Meeting final in Brussels.
“The day I lost you, I also lost me. I’ve been trying to find myself again but it’s hard. It’s hard because you were a huge part of my life. Not having you here is so painful. I’m just not me anymore,” Tebogo shared.
The Olympic silver medallist lost his mother to a short illness at the start of the season. He was fresh from a second-place finish in the men’s 100m at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix.
Following his mother’s demise, Tebogo took time off and returned to competitive running at the Africa Senior Athletics Championships before competing at the Gyulai István Memorial, the Diamond League Meetings in Monaco and London before the Paris Olympic Games.
The Motswana sprinter won a gold medal in the men’s 200m before winning the silver medal in the men’s 4x400m relay at the Olympic Games. After the Paris Olympic Games, he has been unbeaten in all his races.
Tebogo won the Diamond League Meetings in Lausanne, Silesia, Rome and Zurich and also claimed top honours at the Grand Prix Lombardia. He continues to make his late mother proud since she was vital in his decision to select track and field as a professional career. Tebogo now shifts focus to the Diamond League Meeting final in Brussels.