I know barefoot running is the new craze right now. Ever heard of Abebe Bikila? His life is an inspiring story and an example of the determination and hard work that is part of the Ethiopian culture. He was running barefoot way back in the 50s.
The year: 1960
The place: Rome, the location of the Olympics and former colonial power house that tried to conquer Ethiopia.
What happened? TIME Magazine summed it up well.
A few of the other runners sniggered when they saw Abebe Bikila turn up
at the start of the Olympic marathon with no shoes. As a television
camera scanned the scrum of athletes readying themselves for the
starter's gun, a commentator asked: "And what's this Ethiopian called?"
It was 1960, Rome. Africa was just shrugging off the weight of colonial
rule and some sporting officials still doubted Africans were ready for
the big time. A little over 2 hr. 15 min. later that myth lay shattered
by the slight man wearing number 11, a member of Ethiopian Emperor Haile
Selassie's Imperial Guard and a proud African whose gliding, barefoot
run through Rome's cobblestone streets announced his continent's
emergence as a running powerhouse.
Abebe Bikila, a soldier in the imperial guard of Ethiopia's Haile Selassie, wasn't just the first African athlete to win a gold medal in Olympic competition. He won the marathon in the 1960 games while running barefoot, then defied odds to win again in Tokyo four years later.
