The Hindu : Sport / Olympic Games : Abebe Bikila: an athlete par excellence

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Sport - Olympic Games

Abebe Bikila: an athlete par excellence

V. V. Subrahmanyam

In 13 editions since its debut in Olympics, Ethiopia has scripted some of the most famous feats in track events — winning 14 gold, five silver and 12 bronze medals. But, not many of its athletes can match the aura and greatness of Abebe Bikila — the first black African athlete to win an Olympic gold medal (1960 Rome Games) and the first athlete to win the Olympic marathon gold twice.

It was a unique marathon in Rome — neither did it start nor finish in the main Olympic Stadium. And, the later part of the event was run in the dark, the route lit by the Roman soldiers holding torches. Inspirational sight enough for this Ethiopian to conquer Rome!

A legend

Born to a shepherd, Abebe Bikila was a legend in his own way.

When he could not find shoes which fit comfortably, Bikila decided to run the marathon barefoot, exactly the way he trained. A decision which stunned the fellow competitors but did not affect his grit and determination.

And, the rest is history. Bikila and his nearest challenger Rhadi had created a gap from the rest of the pack.

They stayed together until the last 500m when the Ethiopian changed gears to set a World record time of 2:15:16.2.

“I wanted the world to know that my country, Ethiopia, has always won with determination and heroism,” was his reply to a query on why he ran barefoot.

Four years later, Bikila chased history, literally. Despite operated upon for appendicitis 40 days before the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, he started training in the hospital courtyard itself.

Same strategy

He competed this time wearing Asics shoes. Repeating the same strategy as in Rome, he stayed with the leaders until the 20 km point and then slowly separated himself from the other runners.

Shortly before 20 km, only Hogan was in contention and by 30 km he was 40 seconds in front of Hogan and exactly 2 minutes in front of Kokichi Tsuburaya of Japan in third place. He entered the stadium alone to the cheers of 70,000 spectators with yet another record effort of 2:12:11:2, 4 minutes and 8 seconds in front of silver medallist Basil Heatley of Great Britain. Kokichi Tsuburaya was third.

He trained hard for the Mexico Olympics of 1968 but withdrew from the race after running 17km due to an injury. The world championships he won in 1960 and 1962 deserve special mention.

Tragic end

Fate struck a tragic blow when Bikila met with a serious accident in 1969 which left him a paraplegic. He died in 1973 aged 41 due to cerebral haemorrhage.

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