GABORONE, Botswana — The land of diamonds now has gold.

By presidential decree, the people of Botswana were given the day off work on Friday afternoon so they could celebrate their first gold medal at the Olympic Games.

Sprinter Letsile Tebogo’s victory in the 200 metres in Paris on Thursday night was an unforgettable moment for a southern African country of 2.4 million people, most of whose land is desert. Botswana is perhaps better known as one of the world’s largest diamond producers.

Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi granted all citizens a half-day national holiday to recognise Tebogo’s victory and “pause and celebrate”, his office said.

Before 21-year-old Tebogo’s breakthrough, Botswana had won just two Olympic medals since the first Games in Moscow in 1980. All of these came on the track: Nijel Amos won silver in the 800 metres in 2012 and the men’s 4×400 relay team won bronze at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Tebogo’s gold was history for all of Africa, as he became the continent’s first runner to win the Olympic title in the 200-meter race.

Botswana’s neighbour Namibia came close to achieving this goal once before, when Frankie Fredericks won a silver medal in the 100 and 200 metres at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games.

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games