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Tens of thousands of people packed a stadium in Botswana to welcome sprinter Letsile Tebogo home, with the country’s first ever Olympic gold medal.<\/p>\n
Rapturous supporters waved the country’s blue-and-black national flag as the Olympic team touched down in the capital, Gaborone, on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The athletes paraded the National Stadium on a rooftop bus, waving at fans enjoying a half-day holiday declared by the president to celebrate Tebogo’s success.<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old became the first African to win the men’s 200m when he stormed clear past Americans Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles in Paris on 8 August.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
He set an African record time of 19.46 seconds and along with his teammates, he gained a silver in the men’s 4x400m relay, boosting Botswana’s total Olympic medal tally to four.<\/p>\n
Before Tuesday’s celebration at the stadium, hundreds of supporters from the southern African country gathered at Gaborone’s airport to get the first glimpse of their Olympic team.<\/p>\n
Traditional dancers wearing animal skins and beads were there to start the party as the athletes appeared.<\/p>\n
President Mokgweetsi Masisi exhibited some of his own moves, dancing on the tarmac as an aide held an umbrella to shelter him from the sun.<\/p>\n
From the airport, the athletes were transported to greet a much bigger crowd at the national stadium.<\/p>\n
After winning the 200m, Tebogo dedicated his gold medal to his mother Seratiwa, who died in May after a brief illness, and held up his spikes, displaying her date of birth, to the camera, following his victory.<\/p>\n
“It’s basically me carrying her through every stride that I take inside the field,” Tebogo said.<\/p>\n
“To take her [with me], it gives me a lot of motivation. She’s watching up there, and she’s really, really happy.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n