Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo joined local children in Gaborone on Friday (1) for a special Kids’ Athletics Day activation on the eve of the Debswana World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26.
Held in Tebogo’s home country ahead of the first World Athletics Series event to take place in Botswana, the session marked the start of a month-long global celebration of Kids’ Athletics Day.
Friday’s session with Tebogo brought together local children for an introduction to athletics through games, movement-based activities and relay-inspired challenges, connecting them with the sport before the world’s leading relay teams compete at the National Stadium this weekend.
Delivered in partnership with the Botswana Athletics Association, the event formed part of the build-up to the World Athletics Relays.
Tebogo, a Kids’ Athletics ambassador, took part in the session and encouraged the children to enjoy sport, stay active and dream big.
“It’s all about the kids, it’s not about me,” said Tebogo. “What I do is for the kids. Many of them don’t have enough resources to help them pursue their dreams, so I try to meet them halfway and help ensure everything falls into place.”
Kids’ Athletics, World Athletics’ flagship participation programme for children, is designed to develop fundamental movement and athletics skills in a fun, safe and inclusive way, using the power of athletics to inspire children around the world to be more active.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said Kids’ Athletics plays an important role in introducing children not just to athletics, but to the physical skills that can help them in sport more widely.
“Kids’ Athletics builds on a really important platform,” said Coe. “Athletics is the queen of all sports. It requires every element of physical literacy – the same skills and movement patterns young people need for football, rugby, tennis or whatever sport they choose.
“Introducing those skills, those physical qualities and those patterns of exercise at a young age is really critical. That is what Kids’ Athletics does. It does a lot more than just introduce young people to athletics.”
Kids’ Athletics Day is celebrated annually on 7 May and provides a global moment in the calendar for children, schools, clubs, coaches, teachers, families and Member Federations to celebrate the values of movement, learning, inclusion, sustainability and community.
Since its launch in 2022, Kids’ Athletics Day has grown into a global celebration, reaching 1.3 million children across schools, clubs and communities. This year, World Athletics is celebrating five years of Kids’ Athletics Day with a campaign running throughout May.
The campaign follows the recent launch of the Kids’ Athletics app, a free digital resource designed to make Kids’ Athletics activities more accessible to children, schools, clubs, coaches, teachers and families around the world.
Available on Android and Apple devices, the app provides easy access to Kids’ Athletics activities, videos and session plans, including resources that can be used offline, helping to support participation in a wide range of settings.
The celebrations in Gaborone will continue during the Debswana World Athletics Relays on 2-3 May, when local children involved in Kids’ Athletics will have the chance to play a special role on the competition stage.
As part of the Baton Kids activation, children will be positioned on the start line for selected relay races, each holding a baton to hand over to athletes running the opening leg.
The initiative has been designed to give children a memorable connection with the world’s best relay runners and to place youth participation at the heart of the event experience.
For Tebogo, Botswana’s recent relay success has already shown how elite performance can inspire the next generation.
“I’ve witnessed first-hand how winning medals has opened a lot of doors for youngsters who want to pursue athletics as their dream,” said Tebogo. “Athletics helped me stay off the streets and out of trouble, and it has continued to give me so many opportunities. Being involved with Kids’ Athletics is one of them and I hope to show young people why they should dream big and have fun doing this sport.”
World Athletics
