American Legend Backs Friendly Rivalry Between Letsile Tebogo and Courtney Lindsey to Light Up the Track

Justin Gatlin Backs Friendly Rivalry Between Letsile Tebogo and Courtney Lindsey to Light Up the Track

American Legend Backs Friendly Rivalry Between Letsile Tebogo and Courtney Lindsey to Light Up the Track

Abigael Wafula 15:05 - 23.05.2025

The 2004 Olympic champion believes the growing rivalry between Letsile Tebogo and Courtney Lindsey will energise the sport and excite fans this season.

American sprint legend Justin Gatlin loves the friendly rivalry that is unfolding between Letsile Tebogo and Courtney Lindsey.

Competing in the 200m at the Diamond League Meeting in Doha, on his way to winning the race, Letsile Tebogo gave a cheeky glance to Courtney Lindsey, who came in second in the race.

Letsile Tebogo clocked a stunning 20.10 seconds to cross the finish line with Lindsey coming in second in a time of 20.11 seconds. Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh rounded up the podium in 20.26 seconds.

PAY ATTENTION: Stay updated with the Latest Sports News from Pulse Sports.

Letsile Tebogo first clashed against Lindsey Courtney in a high-profile encounter at the Kip Keino Classic in 2024, where the American had an upper hand, winning the race ahead of the reigning Olympic 200m champion.

Justin Gatlin: Him Showing Up and Doing That, I Love It

Letsile Tebogo
Botswana's Olympic hero Letsile Tebogo

The 2004 Olympic 100m champion lauded Letsile Tebogo’s talent, revealing that he is undoubtedly a great 200m runner.

According to Justin Gatlin, Letsile Tebogo has mastered the art of competing in the 200m, and there is no doubt that he will always impress when the time comes for him to show up.

Justin Gatlin revealed that since his days competing in the World Under-20 Championships, Letsile Tebogo has always been destined to be a great sprinter.

“The thing about Tebogo is, we know he has so much talent and is like, it runs deep, and we’ve seen him do things very relaxed these days,” Justin Gatlin said on the Ready Set Go podcast.

“He’s always like, ‘I’m going to go out and just kind of jog a 20.10 and slow it down to the line and look around. We’ve seen him do it when he was in the under-20, you know what I’m saying.”

Justin Gatlin added that the rivalry between him and Courtney Lindsey will make the sport interesting, owing to the fact that both of them have different personalities.

He revealed that Lindsey is laid back, as compared to Letsile Tebogo, who is slowly embracing the limelight. Justin Gatlin also backed Courtney Lindsey to flourish this season, revealing that once he works on his starts and management of a race, he will be a double threat in the 100m and 200m.

“We know that he has a talent to get the job done, and we know his sweet spot is that 200m right now. Him showing up and doing that, I love it,” Justin Gatlin added.

“We know that Courtney is not the flashy kind of guy. I do have a lot of confidence in Courtney; he has run 19.77, and I believe he can run 9.7 once he gets his start down and his transition down. Once he gets everything done, he will be a double threat for sure.”

As the season unfolds, one of the rivalries that will spice up track and field will be that of Letsile Tebogo and Courtney Lindsey, ahead of the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

Tags: