Abebe Bikila was born in Ethiopia on 7 August 1932, the day of the Los Angeles Olympic marathon.

Attacking by the obelisk

Twenty-eight years later, he entered the marathon at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. He and his coach, Onni Niskanen, decided that Bikila, who ran barefooted, should make his final move a little more than one kilometre from the finish line. It was at this point that the course passed the obelisk of Axum, a monument that had been plundered from Ethiopia by Italian troops and hauled away to Rome. When Bikila reached the obelisk, he was running even with Rhadi Ben Abdesselem of Morocco. Bikila successfully pulled away and won by 200m.

Winning twice, Olympic history

Although no one had ever won the marathon twice, Bikila returned to the Olympic Games in 1964, even though he had undergone an appendectomy 40 days before the race. This time he ran with shoes and socks. Bikila took a clear lead by the halfway mark and steadily pulled away to win by more than four minutes. His time, 2 hours 12 minutes 11.2 seconds, was a world best for the marathon.