August 8, 2024 – 11:55 AM PDT

PARIS (Reuters) – Letsile Tebogo became the first African to win the Olympic 200 metres title on Thursday when he powered clear of American duo Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles in 19.46 seconds to claim Botswana’s first Olympic gold medal.

Tebogo, who won bronze at the worlds last year and set a national record of 9.86 when finishing sixth in the Paris 100m final, produced a dominant run to become the fifth-fastest man in history over 200m.

Bednarek chased him all the way to take a second successive silver in 19.62 seconds, with Lyles, hoping to become the first American to complete the sprint double since Carl Lewis 40 years ago, third in 19.67.

Immediately after the race, U.S. officials said Lyles had COVID and a yellow card appeared against his name in the official results.

^{Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Ed Osmond}