Botswana has declared a public holiday to mark its men’s 4×400 metres relay team’s historic victory at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, the first time an African nation has won gold in the event.
President Duma Boko hailed the gold medal as a “historic African win” in an address delivered online from New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly.
He announced that Monday, 29 September, will be observed as a national holiday to celebrate the achievement, coming a day before the country’s independence day.
On Sunday, Botswana’s quartet of Lee Bhekempilo Eppie, Letsile Tebogo, Bayapo Ndori and Busang Collen Kebinatshipi stunned favourites the United States winners of the last 10 world titles in a rain-soaked final. South Africa finished third.
(L-R) Gold medalists Lee Bhekempilo Eppie, Letsile Tebogo, Bayapo Ndori and Busang Collen Kebinatshipi of Team Botswana pose after competing in the Men’s 4×400 Metres Relay Final on day nine of the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 at National Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
“I’ll be sure to tell everyone, Botswana’s natural diamonds are not just in the ground, they are our World Champion athletes,” President Boko said, describing the victory as “electric” and a sign of the country’s growing stature on the global stage.
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Botswana finished fifth in the overall medal standings at the championships – its best ever showing – with two golds, one silver and one bronze.
Botswana’s team celebrates winning the men’s 4x400m relay final during the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on September 21, 2025. (Photo by Jewel SAMAD / AFP) (Photo by JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images)
The relay team’s winning time of 2:57.56 underlined their speed and coordination, with Tebogo giving Botswana the early lead before Ndori and Kebinatshipi consolidated, and Eppie powering home to seal the nation’s place in athletics history.
The victory comes just a year after Tebogo won Botswana’s first Olympic gold medal in the men’s 200m at Paris 2024 – another first for Africa. That triumph was celebrated with a half-day holiday and a hero’s welcome in Gaborone.
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Botswana’s latest success will be remembered as a landmark moment for African athletics, cementing the southern African nation’s reputation among the world’s elite sprinting nations.
