ROME (AP) — 100, 200, 400.
When it comes to sprinting, Letsile Tebogo can do just about anything.
The Botswana runner clocked 9.87 seconds — and had time to glance around before easing to the line — to win the 100 meters at Rome’s Diamond League meet on Friday.
It was a statement victory for Tebogo after claiming gold in the 200 at the Paris Olympics and powering Botswana to silver in the anchor leg of the 4×400 relay.
“I meditated before the race and it went how I wanted it to be,” Tebogo said. “2024 was my year.”
It concluded a memorable week for Tebogo, who met Pope Francis on Wednesday and showed him the spikes that he won with in Paris — the ones inscribed with his late mother’s date of birth on them. She died in May of breast cancer.
“I know my mom is happy. She was a religious woman,” Tebogo said.
Tebogo started running barefoot in 2019.
“Running without shoes in Africa and in the poorer areas of the world is normal,” he said. “Seeing me win Olympic gold, a lot of people probably went and looked where Botswana is on the map.”
Americans Christian Coleman (9.92) and Fred Kerley (9.95) finished second and third, respectively, while Tokyo Olympics champion Marcell Jacobs placed last in 10.20 after pulling up protectively to avoid injury.
There was no catching Tebogo, who led from start to finish.
Having eased up with about 10 meters to go, Tebogo could probably have run much faster than his personal best of 9.86 that he set when he finished sixth in the 100 in Paris. Noah Lyles won that race in 9.79.
It was Tebogo’s third Diamond League victory since the Olympics, having also won 200 races in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Chorzow, Poland, over the past nine days — which all came after a celebration back home in Botswana with the country’s president.
Also at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea meet, there was nearly a world record in the women’s 3,000 steeplechase. Kenyan-born Bahrain runner Winfred Yavi clocked 8:44.39 — just 0.07 off the mark set by Beatrice Chepkoech in 2016. Yavi sliced more than eight seconds off her winning time from Paris.
Ackera Nugent of Jamaica ran 12.24 in the women’s 100 hurdles for the best time this year, 0.01 faster than Masai Russell’s time at the U.S. trials. Russell, who won gold in Paris, crossed second in 12.31.
Three-time Olympic shot put champion Ryan Crouser secured his first Diamond League victory of the season with a meet-record 22.49. Crouser also coaches Olympic discus champion Roje Stona, who finished second in his Diamond League debut behind Kristjan Ceh.
Faith Kipyegon, another three-time Olympic champion, dominated the women’s 1,500 in 3:52.89.
And Paris pole vault champion Nina Kennedy cleared 4.83 for her third Diamond League victory of the year.
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