Rising sprinter Karabo Letebele caught between choosing a career in football or athletics

His parents have encouraged him to dedicate this year solely to athletics, urging him to explore his full potential.

The 18-year-old, who matriculated from Grey College High School last year, has already begun making a name for himself on the track, despite his strong love for football.

While football still holds a special place in his heart, Letebele says his rapid rise in athletics and growing sponsorship opportunities have made the choice even more challenging.

"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.

“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." 

READ: Viwe Jingqi vows to elevate her performance this season

Letebele told the national broadcaster that his unexpected upset of Africa's fastest man led to a surge in his social media following.

His popularity is on the rise, and he clearly enjoys the newfound attention.

"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."