Ethiopian marathoner Abebe Bikila (1932–1973) is a landmark figure in the history of the modern Olympic Games for being the first Black African to win a gold medal and also for the manner in which he achieved this feat and the geopolitical and sporting impact he left behind.
Bikila was born on August 7, 1932, in the historical region of Shewa, Ethiopia. He grew up in a simple rural environment, where daily life demanded strenuous physical exertion in the Ethiopian highlands, which rise to over 2,000 metres above sea level. This geographical environment endowed his respiratory and circulatory systems with an exceptional capacity for oxygen consumption, a phenomenon known scientifically as “altitude adaptation”.
As a young man, Bikila joined Haile Selassie’s Imperial Guard (known as the Kebur Zabagna), where his talent began to shine through during military training and local competitions. He caught the eye of Swedish coach Onni Niskanen, who invited him to train professionally.
According to Tim Judah:
“The Ethiopia of the 1950s was a relatively quiet country. For Bikila these were halcyon days. As a young private, he played football, volleyball and basketball, and in late 1956 he took up running. He met with instant success. Onni Niskanen, the Guards’ Swedish sports trainer, had “seen this solider running from Sululta to Addis and back every day, and hit upon the idea of letting him try the marathon.” Sululta is a hilly area more than 20 kilometres north of Addis Ababa.”
“Niskanen early on recognised Bikila as a champion of the future. However, to other Ethiopians this didn’t become clear until July 1960. During the armed forces championships, Bikila beat Wami Biratu, until then Ethiopia’s fastest marathon runner, in a time of 2 hours 39 minutes 50 seconds. In 1952, Emil Zatopek’s record-smashing Helsinki Olympic marathon time had been 2 hours 23 minutes 0.3 seconds. Bikila was nowhere near this yet, but he was getting there.”
Bikila entered the 1960 Rome Olympics as a last-minute replacement for his teammate Wami Biratu, who had suffered a broken ankle. Upon arrival, Bikila faced a technical dilemma: the athletic shoes provided by his sponsor were uncomfortable. Hours before the race, he decided to run barefoot, a method he had practised during his training in Ethiopia.
Bikila was unknown to the international observers, and when the race started in the evening to avoid the Rome heat, he maintained his lead. The timing and location held profound symbolic significance; during the race, Bikila passed in front of the Axum Obelisk, which had been stolen from Ethiopia by Italy in 1937 during the Italian invasion. His victory in the heart of Rome, the capital of the country that had previously occupied his homeland, gave the win a political and historical dimension that transcended the realm of sport.
Bikila broke the world record at the time, clocking a time of 2:15:16.2. When asked why he ran barefoot, he humbly replied, “I wanted the world to know that my country Ethiopia has always won with determination and heroism.”
By the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Bikila was no longer a nobody; he had become the favourite. However, just 40 days before the race, he faced a serious health challenge, undergoing emergency surgery to remove his appendix. Many expected him to withdraw or suffer a decline in performance, but he returned to the track, demonstrating exceptional mental fortitude.
In Tokyo, Bikila ran barefoot this time, dominating the race from start to finish and breaking his previous record with a time of 2:12:11.2. Bikila became the first runner in history to successfully defend his marathon title in two consecutive Olympic Games, an achievement that has been repeated only rarely in the following decades.
Judah put this success this way:
“Bikila won his second gold with a new world best time of 2 hours 12 minutes 11.2 seconds. He was the first person to win two marathon gold medals. He was not just an Ethiopian hero now but a pan-African hero, too. A poll in Jeune Afrique magazine, which is sold all over Francophone Africa, found that he was the most popular person in Africa.”
Abebe Bikila’s career was not without its setbacks. At the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, a knee injury and altitude sickness forced him to withdraw after the 17-kilometre mark, handing the gold medal to his teammate Mamo Wolde, who went on to win the gold, thus confirming the continuity of the Ethiopian school of athletics.
However, the final blow came from a car accident in 1969 near Addis Ababa, which left him paralysed. According to him, “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 met with my accident. I accepted those victories as I accept this tragedy. I have to accept both circumstances as facts of life and live happily.”
Undeterred, Bikila participated in the Stoke Mandeville Games (the precursor to the Paralympic Games) in archery and table tennis, demonstrating that sportsmanship is not solely about the ability to run.
Abebe Bikila died in 1973 from health complications resulting from the accident, at the age of 41. Emperor Haile Selassie declared a national day of mourning, and tens of thousands attended his funeral.
Bikila proved that African athletes possessed the physiological and mental capacity, paving the way for legends like Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bikila. He highlighted the importance of high-altitude training, a method that has become a global standard for long-distance runners today. Bikila also became a symbol of Ethiopian sovereignty and African dignity during the decolonisation era.
