Abebe Bikila wins marathon barefoot

At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, the Ethiopian runner Abebe Bikila won the marathon while running barefoot, setting a world best time for the distance. He was the first Black African to win an Olympic gold medal, and his victory became a landmark in the history of African sport and a powerful symbol of the continent's emergence on the world stage during the era of decolonization.

Bikila was a member of the Imperial Bodyguard of Emperor Haile Selassie, and he had taken up serious distance running under the guidance of the Swedish coach Onni Niskanen, who worked with the Ethiopian military. He was not among the best-known names in the field and reportedly entered the Rome marathon as a late replacement for a teammate who had been injured. Accounts differ on the details, but it is generally agreed that he arrived as a little-known figure. The widely repeated story is that Bikila had tried Olympic-issued shoes that did not fit well, so he chose to run the race as he had trained, without them.

The race was held in the evening, with torches lighting parts of the course, and it finished at the Arch of Constantine along the ancient Appian Way. The route held a pointed irony: in 1935 Italy had invaded Ethiopia, and Italian forces occupied the country for several years. Bikila pulled away from the Moroccan runner Rhadi Ben Abdesselam in the closing stretch and crossed the line first in about two hours and fifteen minutes, a new best time. Many observers noted the symbolism of an Ethiopian soldier winning in the Italian capital, though Bikila himself was primarily remembered for his calm, focused running rather than for political statements.

His career did not end in Rome. At the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, only weeks after surgery for appendicitis, he won the marathon again, this time wearing shoes, and set another world best. That made him the first athlete to win the Olympic marathon twice in succession. He attempted a third title in 1968 but withdrew because of injury.

In 1969 Bikila was paralyzed from the waist down after a car accident. He later took part in sporting events for athletes with disabilities and remained a national hero until his death in 1973, at the age of 41. His example is often credited with inspiring later generations of Ethiopian and East African distance runners, whose success in the marathon and other long-distance events has become a defining feature of international athletics.