Athletics competitor
Came from a family of farmers and was member of the Imperial Guard member of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie before succeeding in military competitions. After his victory in Rome, Selassie offered him a car, an apartment, and a pension for the rest of his life. However, when rebellion arose in the Emperors Palace, all the Guard were killed. Abebe Bikila escaped from death thanks to the Emperors intervention.
Considered the greatest marathon runner of all time.
First African to win an Olympics medal.
First ever to win the gold medal in two Olympic marathons.
In 1969, Bikila was in a tragic car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down for the remainder of his life. Bikila continued to be a national hero in Ethiopia, where many people made pilgrimages to visit him before his death in 1973.
In the famous 1960 Olympics, Bikila ran barefoot over the cobblestones of the Appian Way in Rome, Italy, to break Czechoslovakian runner Emil Ztopeks 1952 marathon record by nearly eight minutes.
Olympic runner, he set a new world record in the 1960 Olympics at 2:16:2 and then, in 1964 in Tokyo, he broke his own record by more than four minutes at 2:12:11, though still recovering from an appendix operation.
Following his untimely death, he was interred at Saint Josephs Church Cemetery in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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 accepted this tragedy. I have to accept,both circumstances as facts of life and live happily. .
