Tebogo wins Jesse Owens Rising Star Award

Letsile Tebogo has been named the first male winner of the Jesse Owens Rising Star Award at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels.

The Botswanan ran 19.80 to finish second behind USA Kenny Bednarek but the time adjudged the best performance of the final by a male athlete aged 23 or under, making him the first ever winner of the newly inaugurated Jesse Owens Rising Star Award.

The award honours the legacy of the one of the sport’s biggest names while also highlighting the best upcoming talent in track and field.

Owens was 23 years old when he won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games, writing himself indelibly into the sporting history books.

Tebogo’s triumph saw him take home a bronze statuette of Owens, the American sprinter who made sporting history with his four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.

It was a fitting finish to an extraordinary season for the Botswanan who made history as the first African man to win the Olympic 200m gold.

The 21 year old also notched up a total of five victories en route to the Wanda Diamond League Final.