Botswana has declared a public holiday to celebrate the country’s victory in the men’s 4×400 metres at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, the first African nation to win the event.
President Duma Boko hailed the gold medal as a “historic African win”, in an online address praising the team for their performance.
He announced Monday, 29 September, as a holiday to celebrate the achievement – a day ahead of the country’s independence day.
On Sunday, Botswana’s team of Lee Bhekempilo Eppie, Letsile Tebogo, Bayapo Ndori and Busang Collen Kebinatshipi edged out the US, the winners of the last 10 world titles, in a rain-drenched race. South Africa took third position.
“I’ll be sure to tell everyone, Botswana’s natural diamonds are not just in the ground, they are our World Champion athletes,” the president said, speaking from New York where he is attending the UN General Assembly.
He described the moment as “electric”, adding that Botswana’s performance spoke to its rising stature on the global stage.
The southern African nation finished fifth overall in the championship’s medal standings – behind the US, Kenya, the Netherlands and Canada – their best ever return after taking two golds, one silver and a bronze.
Last year, Botswana celebrated another historic milestone as Tebogo won the nation’s first Olympic gold medal with his victory in the men’s 200m in Paris.
His triumph, which also marked the first time an African athlete had won the event, became a national sensation, with tens of thousands of people celebrating him at the National Stadium in the capital, Gaborone, after he returned to the country.
The government declared a half-day holiday allowing citizens to “pause and celebrate him” – in what then-President Mokgweetsi Masisi described as a “most unique… manner that will be etched in the annals of the history of the Republic”.