by Pileated

Created on: April 29, 2008   Last Updated: August 07, 2008

A lone runner made his way through the darkness down the ancient cobble stone highway; only the light from torches held by soldiers guided his way. The Appian Way, which had witnessed history over the last 2,000 years, was once again playing a role in an historic event. The runner was an Ethiopian, running barefoot, on the last the last leg of the 26.2 mile Olympic marathon. He was on a world record pace. The scene was the 1960 Olympics in Rome and the runner was Abebe Bikila.

The Ethiopian government had provided Abebe with running shoes but they hurt his feet. So, as he had many times before during training, he chose to run barefoot. As he came down the Appian Way, spectators next to the road could hear the patter of his bare feet against the rough cobblestone rock. He had just passed the second place runner, Rhadi Ben Abdessele of Morocco and was continuing to pull away.

Abebe was accustomed to challenging conditions. Twenty eight years earlier, in 1932, Abebe was born into a poor family in the mountains of Ethiopia. There, as did his father, he herded sheep. When he was old enough, he joined the Ethiopian army, eventually becoming a body guard for the Emperor Haile Selasdie.

A pivotal point in his life came when he was 24. As Abebe watched a parade of Ethiopian athletes who had participated in the Melbourne Olympics, he was impressed the image of these Ethiopian athletes in uniform. Abebe made a commitment that he would also someday run in the Olympics.

Abebe started participating in military athletic evens. At a training camp, Swedish coach Onni Niskanen recognized Abebe's running abilities. Along with other runners, Onni trained Abebe in the 6,000 foot high mountains. It was there, in the rocky soils in the Ethiopian mountains, that Abebe ran barefoot. In 1960, Abebe won his first marathon. It was held at the 8,000 feet above sea level Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. His time was 2 hours and 21 minutes. Few took notice. One month later, he won a second marathon in Addis Ababa, greatly improving his time and qualifying for the Ethiopian Olympic team. His times were not particularly impressive, except when the elevation he ran was considered. Although the world took little notice, Coach Niskansen did. He was convinced that Abebe could not only compete well in the Olympics, he had a good chance of winning. Abebe Bikila's dream of running in an Olympic marathon was about to come true.

Abebe and Coach Niskanen had developed a strategy. He was to stay with

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