Bikila was added to the Ethiopian Olympic team only at the last moment as the plane to Rome was about to leave, replacing Wami Biratu who had broken his ankle during workouts. Major Onni Niskanen entered Bikila and Mamo Wolde in the marathon.Adidas, the shoe sponsor at the 1960 Summer Olympics, had few shoes left when Bikila went to try out shoes and he ended up with a pair that did’nt fit comfortably, so he could’nt use them. A couple of hours before the race the decision was taken by Abebe to run barefoot, the way he had trained for the race. Bikila was warned by Niskanen about his main rivals, one of whom was Rhadi Ben Abdesselam from Morocco, who was supposed to wear pectoral bib 26. For unknown reasons, Rhadi did not acquire his black marathon bib before the race and instead was wearing his regularly assigned track and field bib N.185.
The late afternoon race had its start point and finish at the Arch of Constantine, just outside the Colosseum. At the start of the race the Australian Ron Clarke made a comment to Bikila about running barefoot.
During the race Bikila passed numerous runners, looking for the runner with the bib 26. By about 20 km, Bikila and the runner with bib 185 had created a gap from the rest of the pack. Bikila kept looking forward to find Radhi Ben , who unbeknownst to Bikila was running right behind him. They stayed together until the last 500m when Abebe sprinted to the finish line. Bikila won in a record time of 2:15:16.2, becoming the first African to win an Olympic gold medal. He finished 26 seconds ahead of Rhadi.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 perseverance”.
1960 - 1964
Bikila returned to Ethiopia as a hero. Emperor Haile Selassie promoted him to the rank of corporal and awarded him the Star of Ethiopia medal.In 1961 Bikila ran marathons in Greece, Japan and Chekoslovakia, all of which he won. Between October 1961 and April 1963 he did not compete in any international marathon. Bikila entered the 1963 Boston Marathon and finished in 5th position, the only time in his career that he finished a marathon and did not win. He returned to Ethiopia and he did’nt compete in another marathon until the one in Addis Abeba held in 1964. He won this race by the time of 2:23:14.
40 days prior to the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, during routine workouts, Bikila started to feel pain and collapsed. He was admitted to hospital where he was diagnosed with acute appendicitis. He was operated on and shortly thereafter, even during his recovery period, he started jogging in the hospital courtyard at night.
1964 Summer Olympics
Abebe Bikila travelled to Tokyo but was not expected to compete. He did enter the marathon, this time wearing Asics shoes. He used the same strategy as in 1960 to stay in the first group of runners until 20 km, and then slowly increased his pace. After 15 km he only had company from Ron Clarke of Australia and Jim Hogan of Ireland.
Shortly before 20 km, only Hogan was in contention and by the distance of 30 km Bikila was 40 seconds in front of Hogan and 2 minutes ahead of Kokichi Tsuburaya of Japan in the third row. He entered the Olympics stadium alone to the cheers and delight of 70000 spectators.
He finished the Tokyo marathon in a new world record time, viz 2:12:11:2 , amazingly 4 minutes and 8 seconds in front of the silver medallist Basil Heatley of GB. Kokishi Tsuburaya ranked third.Abebe Bikila was the first athlete in history to win the Olympic marathon twice. Afer reaching the finishing line, he astonished the crowd: not appearing exhausted, he started a routine stretching excercises. He later stated that he could have run a further 10 km at the same pace.
1964 - 1968
Bikila returned to Addis Abeba and was given a hero’s welcome once again. He was again promoted by the Emperor to a higher rank in his career and received as gratuity a white Volkswagen Beetle.
1968 Olympics
Once again Bikila and Mamo Wolde were entered in the marathon (symbolically, Bikila was given bib N.1 for this race) This time however Bikila had to leave the race after 17 km, due to an injury in his right knee. He watched his friend and long time running mate Mamo Wolde win. Mamo Wolde showing marked respect, later stated that had Bikila not been injured, he would surely have won
1969 - 1973
In 1969 during civil unrests in Addis, Bikila was driving his Volkswagen Beetle when he had to swerve to avoid a group of protesting students. He lost control of his car , squashed in a ditch and was trapped seriously. He was freed out of the car but the accident left him quadriplegic. He was operated at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in the UK . After sometime his condition improved to paraplegic.Niskanen convinced him to compete in paraplegic archery competitions and Abebe joked that he would win the next Olympic Marathon even in a wheelchair.
Abebe was invited as a special guest to the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich where he witnessed his comate Mamo Wolde fail to pair Bikila’s twin marathon victories. Wolde finished third behind the US runner Frank Shorter. After Shorter received his medal he went to Bikila to shake his hand.
Nightfall
On October 23 1973, Abebe Bikila died in Addis Abeba at the age of 41 from a cerebral hemorrhage, a complication related to the accident he had 4 years ago. He left behind him his wife and four children. His funeral in Addis Abeba was attended by a crowd of 75000 mourners. Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia proclaimed a national day of mourning for Ethiopia’s national hero.
Since then, the main stadium in Addis Abeba is named in his honor. Nonetheless the American Community School of Addis Abeba had dedicated a gymnasium to his name.
Quotes
Abebe Bikila was not an orator but few words of him are carved in our memories.
- “ I wanted the world to know that my country Ethiopia has always won with determination and perseverance”
- “Men of success meet with tragedy. It was the will of God that I won the Olympics, and it was the will of God that I succumbed my accident. I accepted those victories as I accept this tragedy. I have to accept both circumstances of life and live happily.”
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