The Bank of Botswana has unveiled a special ₱50 (50 Pula) commemorative banknote to honor sprint sensation Letsile Tebogo, including his 4x400m silver winning quatet, celebrating his historic achievements on the global stage.
Tebogo won Botswana’s first Olympic gold at the Paris Olympics in the 200m and also anchored the 4x400m relay team to a silver medal in an African record of 2:54:53, behind the Team USA.
The quartet are Busang Kebinatship, Bayapo Ndori, Anthony Pesela and Letsile Tebogo.This quartet also won the gold at the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou 2025 in time of 3:01:23
Before then Botswana had only won one silver and bronze apiece at the Olympic games.In Paris they had only 12 athletes ,10 men and two females competing in two sports,yet they fared better than Team Nigeria.
An appreciative nation has continued to honour him and his relay team mates since Paris Olympics and the latest commemorative banknote to honour Tebogo and the quartet is to write their name gold.
For his exploits at the Olympics,Tebogo received from the government P250,000 about 20,000 dollars, about 2,000 for finishing in the top eight in the 100m and about 3, 600 dollars for setting an African record in the 200m.A retailer Choppies Botswana made Tebogo an instant millionaire with a P1Mm cash reward. In addition, he was given a four bedroom house in a location of his choice,plus groceries for a year.
Reacting to the announcement, Tebogo said: “Our Currency, Our Pride. Every time we step onto the track, we carry the pride of our nation. It is a tremendous honor for me and the entire team that represented Botswana at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Thank you, Bank of Botswana, for recognizing our efforts and etching us into the murals of history with this incredible gesture. Ke a leboga, Batswana, for your unwavering support.”
This honour cements Tebogo’s legacy as a national hero and a symbol of inspiration for Botswana’s sporting future.
Reports say all the athletes from Botswana who qualified for the Paris Olympics received financial packages, including a monthly stipend.
Tebogo’s package included a P30,000.00 (about $2,500) qualification bonus, an P8,333.33 (around $615) monthly upkeep stipend since his qualification, and a P5,000.00 (about $40) appearance fee, all of which were paid,unlike what we see in Nigeria.
