Karabo Letebele is embracing his newfound fame after shocking Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, with a stunning victory at the ASA Grand Prix.
South Africa’s teen sprint sensation Karabo Letebele has reacted to defeating Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala at the ASA Athletics Grand Prix 1 at the Pilditch Stadium, Pretoria in South Africa.
Karabo Letebele clocked an impressive 10.19 seconds to cross the finish line first ahead of Emile Erasmus and Ferdinand Omanyala who came in second and third in respective times of 10.19 and 10.22 seconds.
Karabo Letebele newfound fame after beating Omanyala
The 18-year-old revealed that his social media handles have been buzzing and he received a lot of followers after achieving the feat.
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He is clearly enjoying the attention, noting that his friends are also in awe of his new celebrity status. However, he is treading carefully since his parents warned him not to let the fame get into his head as he is just coming up.
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“My friends are going crazy, I gained over like 300 followers in one day and my family was just very supportive, they were just happy for me and they told me to remain humble and keep working hard,” Karabo Letebele said as per SABC Sport.
Karabo Letebele at crossroads
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Karabo Letebele at crossroads. Image source: Kenya Sports
Karabo Letebele graduated from Grey College High School last year, where he used to spend most of his time playing football.
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Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy still has hopes of clinching a World Cup place despite a draw away to the Gambia as he looks to freshen up the team for Gabon on Sunday.
However, with his new track and field dominant, Letebele is at crossroads about what he will pursue going forward since he also has undying love for football.
His parents and coach have advised him to take track and field this season and see how things will go, since he has already started being approached by brands, something he cannot turn down.
“I enjoy playing soccer and doing track and field of course and yeah, that’s me. I have a very supportive family behind me. Coach knows me from when I was 16, he promoted me to the first team, he’s the one who promoted me to the first team in grade 10 but he knows how talented I am in both football and athletics,” Letebele said.
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“But I think they talked to my parents and they told me just for this year, just focus on track and field and see how it goes. I’ve been doing both and I wasn’t excelling like the Walaza’s so they told me to focus on track and see how far you can go.”
As he looks to make a name for himself alongside the likes of Bayanda Walaza, Karabo Letebele is embracing his newfound success with humility while navigating his crucial career. He has focus to build on his victory and establish himself among Africa’s sprinting elite.
