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Justin Gatlin believes Letsile Tebogo's slow start to the season may be linked to the emotional impact of his mother's passing.
Former Olympic champion Justin Gatlin has shed light on why the passing of Letsile Tebogo's mother could be weighing heavily on the sprinter.
This comes amidst Tebogo's underwhelming start to the campaign, one that has, however, gradually grown stronger.
The former World Champion believes Tebogo's poor start could be due to adjusting to his mother's passing, among other factors.
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Gatlin Suggests Tebogo's Struggles May Be Tied to Personal Loss
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Speaking on a recent episode of The Ready Set Go show on YouTube, Gatlin noted that Tebogo could be dealing with something that is affecting his performance.
"We can't forget Tebogo," said the former 100m world record holder.
"Tebogo ran 10.20 seconds in the last race, now he has come back and ran 10.03 seconds in this race. And that goes to show you don't know what people are going through," added Gatlin, referring to Tebogo's performances at the Xiamen Diamond League and Shanghai.
Tebogo lost out to South African sprinter Akani Simbine on both occasions but improved on his time.
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"You don't know if they have a stomach bug, or if they’re jetlagged, or, you know, he's still feeling the residuals of his mother passing," said Gatlin on what could have affected Tebogo's performance in Xiamen and why he improved so much in Shanghai.
"There's a lot that can go into athletes' heads and hearts before they line up. And watching him go from a 10.20 down to a 10.03 — that tells me, oh, he good. He going to be good," noted Gatlin.
Tebogo Eyes World Championships
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Despite a rocky start, Gatlin has tipped Tebogo to come into his stride at the right time during major championships later in the year.
The Botswana rising star is looking to build on a successful 2024 Olympic year, where he had unprecedented success for any African sprinter following the loss of his mother in that same year.
Tebogo claimed gold in the 200m, edging out American sprinters Kenny Bednarek and 100m Olympic champion Noah Lyles.
He also anchored Team Botswana to silver in the 4x400m, narrowly losing out on gold to a Rai Benjamin-anchored Team USA.
Tebogo will be eyeing a maiden world title when he lines up at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September, against the likes of Lyles, Bednarek, Kishane Thompson, Fred Kerley, among others.
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