"My retirement is not different from that of football players who always announce their retirement from international events but keep playing for their individual clubs at home."

"I don’t know why people are so surprised by my return because I have never said I has retired from athletics. What I said was that I was retiring from international athletics which concern national team events."

"That 19 seconds felt so peaceful."

"If I don’t stumble, I can win this race."

"I’ll always carry her as an inspiration—it’s not every day that you get a supportive parent behind your back in every decision that you make. She was able to show us the right path."

"When you get on to the track, it's all about business."

"I felt like it was over for me—it was over for athletics. I just needed to hand in the boots. I didn’t have the confidence to go out there and do what I have to do."

"I was scared, I didn’t know what to expect. Nobody knew who Letsile was back in 2023."

"When we finish, we become friends and then life goes on."

"We believed that football was the only way to survive."

"Without sport I believe I’d also be behind bars because that was the only way we knew of."

"The semi-final showed me that anything is possible as long as you believe in yourself. Today, I came out here to do just that. I’m forever grateful!"

"I go to the flashbacks that I came from here and now I'm a global star."

"I still have to focus because this was just a start of what will happen in the next 10 years, looking at my age."

"Records are meant to be broken."

"You just have to capitalise on the little you have and make sure you pursue your goals."

"The Olympic gold has opened a lot of doors for the team, because I can't do this alone."

"I believe there is a medal in these legs and it only needs the determination and the willpower to do it."

"It's basically showing them direction, because if we have plenty of free time, we tend to do unlawful stuff."

"I wanted to make a breakthrough for African athletes."

"I aspired to be the one to make it happen and then take in the world's response. And that reaction has been heartwarming."

"I'm really grateful for the team around me. They really pushed me through thick and thin."

"It was sad to see only two nations rule the sport for decades."

"If somebody took it as disrespect, I'm really sorry."

"What I learned tonight is that, make sure you perfect everything according to the race and don't leave out anything."

"Africans are stepping up and we see an increased number of African athletes in global competitions."

"That's always been my goal, to snap their dominance."

"Athletics has given me so many opportunities, and I want young people to believe in themselves, dream big and enjoy the sport."

"I think, for me, I can’t be the face of athletics because I’m not arrogant or loud like Noah (Lyles). So, I believe Noah is the face of athletics."

"It's different in every country. When you get to my country, they understand, they know and they feel when to just let me be."

"So I used to train without shoes in both football and athletics. I would wear a pair of old pants that one of my uncles used to wear back when he was in school. It was just a generational thing."

"I’m the Olympic champion."

"All I can say is that Botswana will take care of a gem perfectly, more than the US can."

"What I'm most excited about, though, is the impact I have made on aspiring athletes."

"Shoes were more expensive and we couldn’t afford that because we lived with our extended family, so it was difficult for us to get things."

"It’s basically me carrying her through every stride that I take inside the field."

"I dream of an all-African lineup at the Olympics one day."

"This is my first title, and it feels crazy. I'm proud of our progress as a nation and as a continent."

"Africans can be sprinters, too."

"I always think about her but I just try not to let it get into me that much and then just block it out and move forward."

"I’m just an ordinary person."

"Running a new world record was not the plan, but it just came naturally."

"She’s watching up there, and she’s really, really happy."

"That transition was what I’d been dreaming of since I started athletics—that was the validation of the potential I didn’t see growing up."

"Only when I get on to the track, I become somebody different."

"There’s a lot of pain that is inside that needs to go out, and the only way I can do that is through running."

"I have proved that by staying on the right track and working hard, it is possible to achieve your dreams no matter which part of the world you're from."

"I used to train without shoes."

"The children that I inspire across the world, sometimes are less privileged and cannot do sports because of their situations."

"I’ve had such a huge blow that affected me deeply, so I’m still trying to get the confidence back into the body. It’s not about injuries; it is all about my mum."