"..After the race, when Bikila was asked why he had run barefoot, he replied, “I wanted the world to know that my country, Ethiopia, has always won with determination and heroism." Wikipedia The official website of Abebe Bikila |
| Home Sport The Glory Trail ( The Guardian ) "..It was particularly sweet for the older generation of Ethiopians. The marathon had passed through the Piazza Venezia. It was here, from the balcony of the Palazzo Venezia, that Mussolini had announced the beginning of his Ethiopian campaign 25 years before. Bikila returned home a conquering hero. " More Abebe Bikila An athlete par excellence |
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Barefoot: Abebe Bikila
In fact, if you include Morocco's Khalid Khannouchi - who set his fastest marathon time after
becoming an American citizen - African athletes have recorded the best 10 times over the 26-and-a-
bit-mile event.
And the man who laid the foundation for this success? Abebe Bikila.
Ethiopian Bikila only went to the 1960 Rome Olympics as a late replacement for Wami Biratu, who
had broken his ankle.
But he emerged as the first African Olympic champion when he won the marathon in a new Olympic
record time of 2 hours 15 minutes 16 seconds, eight minutes quicker than Flying Finn Emil
Zatopek's mark.
Bikila's achievement was even more sensational when you consider he ran barefoot through the
streets of the Italian capital because he could not find any shoes to fit.
Four years later, he became the only athlete to win back-to-back marathon titles when, this time
wearing shoes, he knocked three minutes off his Olympic record to destroy the field assembled in
Tokyo.
Britain's Basil Heatley finished second, over four minutes adrift.
According to Bikila's great friend and rival Mamo Wolde, he would have won a third gold in Mexico
but a knee injury forced him to withdraw early in the race.
Bikila's life was cut tragically short in 1973, at the age of 41, when he died as the result of
complications related to a car accident four years previously, that had left him paraplegic.
Such was his popularity that a national day of mourning was called, 65,000 people attended his
funeral and an athletics stadium in Ethiopian capital Addis Adaba was named in his honour.
Is he the greatest African distance runner in history?
Peter Scrivener is a BBC Sport Journalist. Our FAQs should answer any questions you have. Source
- by Peter Scrivener
9 Jun 2008, ( BBC Sport )
In men's long-distance running, African athletes are the dominant force.
Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie holds the world marathon record and he was
virtually untouchable through the 1990s in the 10,000m.
In fact, if you include Morocco's Khalid Khannouchi - who set his fastest marathon time after
becoming an American citizen - African athletes have recorded the best 10 times over the 26-and-a-
bit-mile event.
And the man who laid the foundation for this success? Abebe Bikila.
Ethiopian Bikila only went to the 1960 Rome Olympics as a late replacement for Wami Biratu, who
had broken his ankle.
But he emerged as the first African Olympic champion when he won the marathon in a new Olympic
record time of 2 hours 15 minutes 16 seconds, eight minutes quicker than Flying Finn Emil
Zatopek's mark.
Bikila's achievement was even more sensational when you consider he ran barefoot through the
streets of the Italian capital because he could not find any shoes to fit.
Four years later, he became the only athlete to win back-to-back marathon titles when, this time
wearing shoes, he knocked three minutes off his Olympic record to destroy the field assembled in
Tokyo.
Britain's Basil Heatley finished second, over four minutes adrift.
According to Bikila's great friend and rival Mamo Wolde, he would have won a third gold in Mexico
but a knee injury forced him to withdraw early in the race.
Bikila's life was cut tragically short in 1973, at the age of 41, when he died as the result of
complications related to a car accident four years previously, that had left him paraplegic.
Such was his popularity that a national day of mourning was called, 65,000 people attended his
funeral and an athletics stadium in Ethiopian capital Addis Adaba was named in his honour.
Is he the greatest African distance runner in history?
Peter Scrivener is a BBC Sport Journalist. Our FAQs should answer any questions you have. Source
| Abebe Bikila |
| " I wanted the world to know that my country, Ethiopia, has always won with determination and heroism." Abebe Bikila |