Botswana has announced a public holiday to celebrate the nation’s historic victory in the men's 4x400 metres relay at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, marking the first time an African country has won the event.
President Duma Boko praised the team in an online address, calling the gold medal a “historic African win” and commending the athletes for their remarkable performance. He declared Monday, 29 September, a national holiday, a day ahead of the country’s Independence Day, to honor the achievement.
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On Sunday, Botswana’s relay team—Lee Bhekempilo Eppie, Letsile Tebogo, Bayapo Ndori, and Busang Collen Kebinatshipi—narrowly defeated the United States, who had won the last ten world titles, in a rain-soaked race. South Africa claimed third place.
Speaking from New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly, President Boko said, “Botswana’s natural diamonds are not just in the ground—they are our World Champion athletes.” He described the team’s performance as “electric” and said it reflected Botswana’s growing prominence on the global stage.
The nation finished fifth overall in the championship’s medal standings—behind the US, Kenya, the Netherlands, and Canada—achieving its best-ever return with two golds, one silver, and a bronze.
This follows last year’s landmark moment when Letsile Tebogo won Botswana’s first Olympic gold in the men’s 200m at the Paris Games, also marking the first time an African athlete had won the event. Tebogo’s triumph sparked nationwide celebrations, with tens of thousands gathering at Gaborone’s National Stadium. The government declared a half-day holiday in his honor, which then-President Mokgweetsi Masisi described as “a most unique… moment that will be etched in the annals of the history of the Republic.”
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