Abebe Bikila

Who is Abebe Bikila?

Abebe Bikila was an Ethiopian long-distance runner and a member of the Imperial Bodyguard who became one of the greatest marathoners in Olympic history. At the 1960 Rome Olympics he won the marathon running barefoot, becoming the first athlete from sub-Saharan Africa to win an Olympic gold medal, and did so in a then world-best time on the ancient roads of the city that had once ruled colonial ambitions over his homeland. Four years later at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, running in shoes and only weeks after an appendectomy, he won again, becoming the first athlete ever to win the Olympic marathon twice. His victories inspired generations of East African distance runners. In 1969 a car accident left him paralyzed from the waist down, but he continued to compete in disabled sports, including archery and sledge events, before his death in 1973. He is celebrated as a national hero and a pioneer of African athletics.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Abebe Bikila' · Olympics.com official athlete profile, 'Abebe Bikila' · Paul Rambali, 'Barefoot Runner: The Life of Marathon Champion Abebe Bikila' (2006)