A real sensation was the performance of a young sprinter from Botswana, Letsil Tebogo, at the World Championships in Athletics among athletes under 20 years old.

In the finals of the 100-meter race, he won with a world record in his age category - 9.91 seconds, and at a distance twice as long he updated the JWCH record twice, but became the silver medalist, losing in the photo finish to the Israeli Blessing Afrifa.

Both athletes finished in 19.96 seconds. 

At the same time, at the hundred meters, Tebogo, who defended his title, won two years ago in Nairobi, had every chance to lose at least a tenth of a second from the result if he had not stopped running 30 meters before the finish line.

Instead of going all out, the 19-year-old Botswana finished in the style of the great Usain Bolt - turning to the nearest pursuer and shaking his finger at him.

They were, by the way, the representative of Jamaica, Bouwajajie Nkrumie, who finished with a national record of 10.02 seconds.

“The point was to enjoy the race.

I'm really sorry if anyone found my gesture offensive.

I saw the fans and I made it so that everyone who watches the race from home can enjoy it.

I wanted to remind them a little about what Usain Bolt used to do.

He is my idol, the person I admire,” Tebogo explained his act after the finish.

He stated that he had no doubts about victory from the very first steps, but did not think about time at all.

The athlete is sure that he could cover the distance in 9.80 seconds, but, according to him, he simply did not set himself such a goal.

“We have a lot of races ahead of us, we didn't want to go that far.

But this year I am competing as a junior, and we must leave the record so that the next generation of athletes can beat it, ”the Botswana emphasized.

Tebogo accepted the defeat at the 200-meter race philosophically.

According to the athlete, he is pleased with himself, because not everyone could run so fast, speaking for four days in a row.  

Not surprisingly, after a bright performance in Cali, many experts and fans began to compare the talented junior with the legendary Bolt and even predict him the same bright career.

Tebogo this season really shows outstanding results.

He has already broken the U20 100m world record three times, which he had held since 2014.

In total, Letsil lost 0.06 seconds from the best result of American Trayvon Bromell.

One of these results was shown during the qualifying run at the senior world championship in Eugene.

Tebogo ran in 9.94 seconds, but the next day he was not ready to repeat the same and did not make it to the final. 

Bolt made it clear that he drew attention to the result of the tournament in Cali, but did not comment in more detail.

"Junior World Championship.

I understand,” wrote the eight-time Olympic champion on Twitter.

Meanwhile, the silver medalist of the 1992 Olympics, television commentator Olga Bogoslovskaya expressed the opinion that it was too early to compare Tebogo and Bolt, and the young athlete first needed to overcome the transition period from juniors to adults.

“It is absolutely impossible to say that a second Bolt was born.

Usain is so far the only one in history, a person who can only be compared with himself.

Whatever records athletes set in the junior, youth, or even more youthful category, you only need to talk about their potential, and it’s very early to say that it will translate into some kind of high results, ”said the former runner in an interview with RT.

She also emphasized that one should not compare a young athlete, almost a child, and an accomplished adult athlete: first, you need to wait until a promising runner gains a foothold among adult colleagues.

“In this age category, athletes cannot be considered as potential world record holders.

There are athletes who mature for a long time and only then shoot, there are those who shoot quickly, but then disappear.

Many are lost: some do not withstand the burden of glory, others decide that this is not their way at all, others are overtaken by injuries, ”Bogoslovskaya noted.

As you know, Bolt won his first U20 World Championship at the age of 15 - in 2002.

Then he excelled at a distance of 200 meters with a result far from the world record - 20.61.

The Jamaican sprinter showed the absolute best time in his age category for the first time almost two years later, the first of the juniors to run out of 20 seconds - 19.93.

Now the record belongs to the American Errion Knighton and is 19.49 seconds.

Bolt did not have the highest world achievements in the 100-meter race in juniors, because for a long time he was concentrated only on a distance twice as long.

Seriously, Usain paid attention to a hundred only in the 2008 Olympic season - then he was already 21 years old.

And at the third tournament in a row, the athlete set the first world record among adults in his career - 9.72.

And then there was the Beijing Olympics, where Bolt won gold in both distances with world records.

He also won the next two Games, but the last record results were shown by him at the 2009 World Cup in Berlin.

They are still holding on.

Bolt retired in 2017. 

In the words of Bogoslovskaya that many brilliant juniors do not reach the highest level, there is a great deal of truth.

Thus, the winners of the YJWCH in the sprint over the past ten years, who have managed to achieve great success in adult competitions, can be counted on the fingers.

Among them is the American Noah Lyles, who won the junior championship in 2016.

Three years later, the athlete won two gold medals at the adult world championship - in the 200-meter race and in the 4x100 relay, and then became the bronze medalist of the Tokyo Games.

This year, Lyles added another victory to the piggy bank - at the home World Cup in Eugene.

Christophe Lemaitre, winner of the 2008 YJCHM in the 200-meter race, flashed brightly on the track and field horizon.

He became the first white sprinter to run out of 10 seconds in a 100m.

In addition, the Frenchman twice became the bronze medalist of the Olympic Games - in 2012 and 2016.

Johan Blake, the 2006 JWCH bronze winner, certainly belongs to the sprint elite.

For most of his career, he was forced to confront Bolt himself.

He failed to beat the eminent compatriot at the most important starts, but Blake took two silver medals in the London Olympics, as well as gold in the 2011 World Cup in Daegu in a hundred, where Usain made a false start and was removed from the race.

And this is not to mention the two gold medals of the Games as part of the relay in 2012 and 2016.

You can also note the ex-world record holder among juniors in the Brommel 100m, who managed to win bronze medals at two adult World Championships - in 2015 and 2022.

However, none of them managed to win the JWCH twice, and even with a world record.

Here Tebogo, of course, stands apart and deserves, if not the title of “second Bolt”, which he is now in a hurry to award, but at least close attention to his future career.

In addition, less than two years remain before the Olympics in Paris, and the sprinter from Botswana will be 21 years old there - exactly the same age as the legendary Jamaican was at the time of his triumph in Beijing.