Abebe Bikila was the first African to win an Olympic gold medal while running barefoot in the 1960 Rome marathon.
With his marathon triumph in the 1960 Olympics, Abebe became the first black athlete representing an African country to win an Olympic gold medal.
Abebe was born in the Ethiopian village of Jato in 1932. As a young man, he relocated to the nation’s capital, Addis Ababa, and enlisted in the Imperial Guard, receiving the esteemed responsibility of guarding Emperor Haile Selassie.
This is where his passion for sports began, and it was here that Swedish coach Onni Niskanen—who had worked for the Ethiopian government as an army trainer—saw his physical prowess.
Not many thought Bikila was Ethiopia’s finest runner; instead, teammate Wami Biratu was picked for the Rome Games, but Biratu became sick a few days before they left and had to stay behind.
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During his Olympic debut, Bikila ran barefoot through the Italian capital, an occasion made even more atmospheric by being the first Olympic marathon run at night, crossing the line in what was then the world-best time of 2:15:16.2.
His triumph in 1960 was significant even outside of his country. Bikila competed in 13 marathons between 1960 and 1966, winning twelve of them.
Abebe Bikila’s sole defeat occurred in the Boston Marathon in 1963, where he placed fifth.
Nevertheless, he disproved his critics in 1964 by becoming the first individual to win the event’s gold medals back-to-back in Tokyo.
He however had to withdraw from the 1968 Olympic marathon at the 17-kilometer mark because of leg injuries.
Following his first Olympic victory, Bikila came home, and the Kenyan Nation Newspaper wrote that:
“In addition to giving him a new Volkswagen Beetle and a house, Emperor Haile Selassie bestowed upon him the Star of Ethiopia and elevated him to the rank of corporal.”
It was at this time that disaster befell him, precisely five years following his second Olympic triumph.
Bikila was said to have been engaged in an automobile accident in March 1969, when he was driving his Volkswagen Beetle, which left him paraplegic from the neck down.
Abebe sadly had spinal cord injuries and a fractured neck, which left him confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of his days.
Interestingly, Bikila was able to regain control over his hands and went to other sports events, becoming a skilled table tennis and archer, and even took part in an early-stage Paralympic competition, the Stoke Mandeville Games, held in London in 1970.
The following year, he participated in a competition for impaired athletes in Norway, where he won the cross-country sleigh-riding event.
Even though Bikila passed away in 1973 at the young age of 41 from a brain hemorrhage, he is still well-known in the sports world.
A national day of mourning was proclaimed by Emperor Haile Selassie, and Bikila was accorded a state burial.
Abebe’s name is associated with numerous schools, honors, and an Addis Ababa stadium.
His greatest contribution to the sport of long-distance running in East Africa has been to inspire a new generation of runners.
Abebe Bikila’s victory in Rome served as a model for generations of African runners, especially those from East Africa, who took up his cause in the decades that followed.
Consequently, several sportsmen from Ethiopia and Kenya, including Haile Gebrselassie and Eliud Kipchoge, have gone on to become the dominant figures in their respective sports.
