Letsile Tebogo will race in Budapest next week without his mother, Seratiwa, who died in May 2024 after a short illness, and the absence has recast a routine championship trip as a personal return to where his career first surged.
Seratiwa attended the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, where Tebogo won silver in the 100m and bronze in the 200m. Those medals were the first World Championship podiums for a male athlete from Botswana, and they made him the first African man to finish on the 100m podium at that level. Tebogo has described a close bond with his mother, and he said preparing to go back without her has been hard. "I haven't really looked into the fact that I'm going now to Budapest without my mom," he said. "It's just been a bumpy ride having to think about it and having to continue with the grind."
Tebogo said memories of Budapest remain a source of motivation. "I believe she's always there with me in spirit and in days where giving up is an option," he said. "She pushes me to give my absolute best and I believe the memories that we had in Budapest, they will still come again."
The trip has a sporting edge as well as a personal one. Tebogo arrives as one of the faces of the inaugural Ultimate Championships, staged in Budapest from 11-13 September. Organisers say the three-day event carries a $10m (£7.41m) prize pot, with each gold medallist due $150,000 (£111,000). The field gathers Olympic and world champions, Diamond League winners and season leaders, elevating both the competition and the spotlight on athletes who perform well.
On form this season, Tebogo helped Botswana win 4x400m gold at the World Relays in Gaborone in May and recorded 200m victories at Diamond League meets in Oslo and Lausanne. A year after his Budapest breakthrough he secured Olympic gold in the 200m at Paris 2024, carrying his mother's initials on his shoes and fingernails as a personal tribute.
Beyond racing, Tebogo will captain a team for the Kids' Athletics Ultimate Challenge at the Gyula Zsivotzky National Athletics Centre the day before the championships, an opportunity to mentor young athletes. He urged youngsters to take responsibility and show strong sportsmanship. "I believe firstly you should start with accountability," he said. "Think about your preparation, how you want your journey or your season to be, and then also think of unwavering sportsmanship. I would love them to have that unwavering sportsmanship, so that they can share lanes, they can cheer for one another."
Tebogo's return to Budapest is therefore both competitive and symbolic, a high-stakes appearance at a new global meet and a chance to carry the memory of his mother into the lanes where she watched him begin his rise.
