By Chantelle Muzanenhamo
Botswana will mark Monday, September 29, as a public holiday in honour of the nation’s men’s 4×400 metres relay team, who stunned the athletics world by winning gold at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
The victory makes Botswana the first African country to ever win the event a feat President Duma Boko hailed as a “historic African win” in an online address from New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly.
On Sunday, the quartet of Lee Bhekempilo Eppie, Letsile Tebogo, Bayapo Ndori and Busang Collen Kebinatshipi delivered a performance for the ages, edging out the United States, who had won the last ten world titles in the event.
South Africa claimed bronze in the rain-soaked final.
“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.
He described the moment as “electric”, adding that the triumph symbolised Botswana’s growing stature on the global stage.
The holiday will fall just a day before the country’s Independence Day, ensuring a double celebration across the nation.
Botswana ended the championships ranked fifth overall in the medal table, behind the US, Kenya, the Netherlands and Canada. The team collected two golds, one silver and one bronze, their best performance in the competition’s history.
The victory continues a golden era for Botswana athletics. Just last year, Letsile Tebogo became the country’s first Olympic gold medallist when he stormed to victory in the 200m final at the Paris Games — also the first time any African athlete had won the event.
That achievement sparked national celebrations, with tens of thousands flooding Gaborone’s National Stadium to welcome him home. The government declared a half-day holiday, which then-President Mokgweetsi Masisi described as a “unique moment etched in the history of the Republic.”
With back-to-back historic wins on the track, Botswana is cementing its place as an emerging athletics powerhouse. For many citizens, the new holiday is more than a day off it is a symbol of pride, resilience, and proof that the nation can shine on the world’s biggest stage.