The 2024 Paris Olympics 200-metre champion, Botswana's Letsile Tebogo, admits that he would most likely have ended up a criminal if not for his track success.
Tebogo, who is just 21, is also the reigning World Athlete of the year made history by clocking 19.46, the fifth fastest time ever in history, and as a result, making it the first ever Gold medal by an athlete from the Southern African country.
On Wednesday, Tebogo was awarded an ambassadorial role by World Athletics.
He now takes up the role of a Kids Athletics Instructor, highlighting his growing influence on the sport.
He says he is honoured to give back to a sport that has practically saved his life.
"Sport has really helped me a lot because I think without sport, probably I would be a criminal by now," Tebogo told reporters on a video conference call.
"In the neighbourhood where I grew up, there were a lot of criminals, it was the only way to survive."
"But then with sport I knew I had to go to school and with training you are tired. You don't have time to roam the streets and go into people's houses," he added. "We always talk about if this didn't work out, where would we be?"
The Kids Athletics programme, overseen by World Athletics and targeted at children aged four to 14, is focused on maximizing participation and enjoyment through modified games and competitions based on track and field events.
Tebogo, like all elite athletes, is preparing for the World Athletics Championships that will take place in Tokyo, Japan, from September 13 to 21.
He will be in action over 200m at the Golden Grand Prix in Botswana on April 12.
The year will culminate in the World Championships in September, and there is much anticipation about the resumption of Tebogo’s rivalry with Olympic 100m and three-time world 200m champion Noah Lyles.
