Why Africa could steal Jamaica's and the USA's sprinting crown in LA 2028

Letsile Tebogo of Botswana has claimed Africa has become a “sprinting home” following his incredible gold medal in the men’s 200m sprint at the Paris Olympics.

Per BBC Sport, Tobogo’s 19.47 was the fifth fastest 200m sprint of all time and only .28 seconds off Usain Bolt’s world record.

Tobogo’s achievement was a remarkable one, but the sprint final boasted a significant presence from Africa, with Zimbabwe’s Tapiwanashe Makarawu and Makanakaishe Charamba, and Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh also in the race.

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Tobogo is not the first African man to win a sprinting gold medal at the Olympics, with Wayde van Niekerk breaking the Olympic record in the 400m in Rio 2016 en route to gold.

Tobogo’s comments after his win were pertinent, telling reporters, “It means a lot for everybody. The country, the continent and my family at large.”

Tobogo’s performance was incredible, both in the 200m and the 4x400m (in which he ran a split of 43.03, matching Van Niekerk’s world record, albeit not starting from the blocks). Could it signal the dawn of African sprint dominance?

Per Olympedia, the USA has had a stronghold on men’s sprinting over Olympic history, winning 16 of the 29 available 100m men’s medals, they also boast five of the top eight fastest runners in history, per World Athletics.

The emergence of Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Asafa Powell during the late 2000s saw Jamaica become a genuine rival to the US, and for the best part of a decade, dominate them.

The previously mentioned three Jamaicans and five Americans top the 100m sprint times, but next up is Ferdinand Omanyala from Kenya, who despite struggles in recent times, ran a 9.77 in 2021 and looked a likely candidate to break the US/Jamaica hegemony on the sport.

For Tobogo and Africa, it is obvious the talent is there to become a sprinting powerhouse, with Botswana finishing second in the men’s 4x400m final. Perhaps Paris 2024 will kickstart the continent into action, and we could see more and more African sprinters rise to the top of their sport.

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