Lee Bhekempilo Eppie

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Lee Eppie
Eppie in 2024
Personal information
NationalityBotswana
BornLee Bhekempilo Eppie
(1999-05-18) 18 May 1999
Sport
SportAthletics
Event
Sprint
Achievements and titles
Personal bests400 m: 44.40 (Francistown, 2025)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Botswana
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2025 Tokyo4 × 400 m relay
African Championships
Gold medal – first place2026 Accra400 m
Silver medal – second place2024 Douala400 m
World Athletics Relays
Gold medal – first place2026 Gaborone4×400 m relay
Bronze medal – third place2025 Guangzhou4 × 400 m relay
African U20 Championships
Silver medal – second place2017 Tlemcen4 × 400 m relay

Lee Bhekempilo Eppie (born 18 May 1999) is a sprinter from Botswana. He was the gold medalist at the 2026 African Championships over 400 metres and a gold medalist in the 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2026 World Athletics Relays and 2025 World Athletics Championships.[1]

Early life

In 2012 he started competing in athletics at primary school, and continued at both junior and senior school under the tutelage of Johnson Kubisa. In 2019, he moved to the United States to study and train at Mississippi State University.[2]

Career

He was a silver medalist for Botswana in the men's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2017 African U20 Championships in Athletics in Tlemcen, Algeria.[3]

He won a silver medal at the 2024 African Championships in Athletics in the Men's 400 metres, running a personal best of 45.39 seconds to finish runner-up to Senegalese athlete Cheikh Tidiane Diouf in Douala, Cameroon in June 2024.[4][2] He was named for the Botswana relay pool for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris in August 2024, although he did not race at the Games.[2][5]

In March 2025, he lowered his personal best to 45.20 seconds for the 400 metres.[6] He was selected to compete for Botswana at the 2025 World Athletics Relays in China, winning a bronze medal as the Botswana men's 4 × 400 metres relay team came third in a time of 2:58.27.[7][8][9] Over the summer of 2025 Eppie continued to lower his personal best on the 400 metres. First in June with a 45.00 in Geneva,[10] follower by a 44.88 in July in Heusden-Zolder[11] and finally a 44.40 in August in Francistown.[12]

Eppie with the Botswana relay team at the 2025 World Championships

In September 2025, Eppie competed at the World Championships for the first time in his career. After coming in second in both his heat and semi-final he qualified for the final of the 400 metres, where he placed eighth. He later won a gold medal as part of the Botswana team in the men's 4 x 400 metres relay.[13]

Competing at the 2026 World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, he ran in the final of the men's 4 x 400 m relay as the Botswana team ran a championship and national record of 2:54.47 to win the gold medal and move to third on the world all-time list.[14] Later that month, he won the gold medal in the 400 metres at the 2026 African Championships in Athletics in Accra, Ghana, running 44.60 seconds to win ahead of Dennis Hove and Leeford Zuze of Zimbabwe.[15]

Personal life

Whilst he was studying at Mississippi State University, he was a roommate of Jamaican Olympic athlete Navasky Anderson.[16]

References

  1. "Lee Bhekempilo Eppie". World Athletics. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  2. "Eppie ending: New 400m ace bouyant ahead of new season". Thevoicebw.com. 9 October 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  3. "2017 African U20 Athletics Championships". Athletics Podium. 2 July 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  4. "African Athletics Championships". World Athletics. 21 June 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  5. "Eppie Hopes To Continue State's Olympic 4x400m Relay Success". Hailstate. July 31, 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  6. "Weight on Scotch in relay title defence". mmegi.bw. 9 May 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  7. "USA, Spain and South Africa claim 4x400m titles in Guangzhou". World Athletics. 11 May 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  8. "Step Up And Be Stars". thevoicebw.com. 9 May 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  9. "World Athletics Relays". World Athletics. 11 May 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  10. "Men's 400 Metres - Atleticageneve - EAP". World Athletics. 2025-06-21. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  11. "Men's 400 Metres - Night of Athletics". World Athletics. 2025-06-19. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  12. "Men's 400 Metres - Bigleague Track And Field Event". World Athletics. 2025-08-16. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  13. "World Athletics Championships, Tokyo 2025". World Athletics. 13 Sep 2025. Retrieved 23 September 2025.
  14. "Botswana bring World Relays to epic close with historic men's 4x400m win". World Athletics. 3 May 2026. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  15. "African Athletics Championships 2026: Lee Eppie leads Botswana charge as Day 3 delivers first medals for hosts Ghana". Olympics. 14 May 2026. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  16. "Mississippi State's partners in Paris". secsports. July 29, 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2025.