Abebe Bikila
Encyclopedia
Abebe Bikila (August 7, 1932 – October 25, 1973) was a two-time Olympic marathon champion from Ethiopia
. A stadium
in Addis Ababa
is named in his honor.
, in the village of Jato
, located 9 kilometers outside the town of Mendida, Ethiopia. His father was a shepherd. Abebe decided to join the Imperial Bodyguard
to support his family, and walked to Addis Ababa
where he started as a private.
Onni Niskanen, a Finnish
-born Swede
, was hired by the Ethiopian government to train potential athletes. He soon spotted Bikila.
was about to leave, as a replacement for Wami Biratu, who had broken his ankle in a soccer match. Major Onni Niskanen entered Bikila and Mamo Wolde
in the marathon
.
Adidas, the shoe sponsor at the 1960 Summer Olympics
, had few shoes left when Bikila went to try out shoes and he ended up with a pair that didn’t fit comfortably, so he couldn't use them. A couple of hours before the race, Bikila decided to run barefoot, the way he'd trained for the race. Bikila was warned by Niskanen about his main rivals, one of whom was Rhadi Ben Abdesselam
from Morocco, who was supposed to wear number 26. For unknown reasons, Rhadi did not acquire his black marathon bib
before the race, and instead was wearing his regularly assigned track and field bib number 185.
The late afternoon race had its start point and finish at the Arch of Constantine
, just outside the Colosseum. At the start of the race the Australian Ron Clarke
made a comment to Bikila about running barefoot.
During the race Bikila passed numerous runners as he searched for Rhadi's number 26. By about 20 km, Bikila and Rhadi (actually wearing number 185) had created a gap from the rest of the pack. Bikila kept looking forward to find the runner with number 26, unaware that Rhadi was running right beside him. They stayed together until the last 500 m, when Bikila sprinted to the finish line. Bikila won in a record time of 2:15:16.2, becoming the first Sub-Saharan Africa
n to win an Olympic gold medal. He finished 25 seconds ahead of Rhadi.
After the race, when Bikila was asked why he had run barefoot, he replied, “I wanted the world to know that my country, Ethiopia, has always won with determination and hero
ism."
Bikila took no part in the uprising, but was briefly held in detention after the coup. Most of the surviving Guards were disbanded and dispersed. One newspaper remarked baldly: "Abebe owes his life to his gold medal."
In 1961 Bikila ran marathons in Greece
, Japan
, and Košice
in Czechoslovakia
, all of which he won. Bikila entered the 1963 Boston Marathon
and finished in just 5th place—the only time in his career that he finished a marathon and did not win. He returned to Ethiopia and he didn’t compete in another marathon until the one in Addis Ababa in 1964. He won this race, taking 2:23:14 to complete the course.
40 days prior to the 1964 Summer Olympics
in Tokyo, during a training run near Addis Ababa, Abebe Bikila started to feel pain. Unaware of the cause of the pain, he attempted to overcome this pain but collapsed. He was taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with acute appendicitis
. He was operated on and shortly thereafter and even during his recovery period he started jogging in the hospital courtyard at night.
of Australia and Jim Hogan
of Ireland. Shortly before 20 km only Hogan was in contention and by 30 km, Bikila was 40 seconds in front of Hogan and two minutes in front of Kokichi Tsuburaya
of Japan in third place. He entered the Olympic stadium alone to the cheers of 70,000 spectators. He finished the marathon in a new world record
time of 2:12:11:2; 4 minutes, 8 seconds in front of the silver medalist Basil Heatley
of Great Britain. Kokichi Tsuburaya was third. He was the first athlete in history to win the Olympic marathon twice. After finishing he astonished the crowd: not appearing exhausted, he started a routine of stretching exercises
. He later stated that he could have run another 10 kilometers.
Bikila returned to Ethiopia to a hero's welcome once again. He was again promoted by the Emperor, and he received his own car, a white Volkswagen Beetle
.
were entered in the marathon (symbolically, Bikila was issued bib number 1 for this race). This time however Bikila had to leave the race after approximately 17 km, due to an injury in his right knee. According to Bud Greenspan's Favorite Stories, an Olympics documentary, Bikila broke a small bone in his foot a few days before the race, while running barefoot. He watched his friend and long time running partner Mamo Wolde win. Mamo Wolde later stated that if Bikila had not been injured, he would surely have won.
in Addis, Bikila was driving his Volkswagen Beetle when he had to swerve to avoid a group of protesting students. He lost control of his car and it landed in a ditch, trapping him. He was freed out of the car but the accident left him quadriplegic
. He was operated on at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital
in England
and his condition improved to paraplegic. Niskanen convinced him to compete in archery competitions for athletes in wheelchairs and Abebe joked that he would win the next Olympic marathon in a wheelchair.
Abebe was invited as a special guest to the 1972 Summer Olympics
in Munich where he witnessed his countryman Mamo Wolde
fail to match Bikila's twin marathon victories; Wolde finished third behind American Frank Shorter
. After Shorter received his medal he went to Bikila to shake his hand.
On the 25 October 1973, Abebe Bikila died in Addis Ababa at the age of 41 from a cerebral hemorrhage, a complication related to the accident of four years earlier. He left behind his wife and four children. His funeral in Addis Ababa was attended by 75,000 and Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
proclaimed a national day of mourning
for Ethiopia’s national hero.
Five years after his death, New York Road Runners
inaugurated an annual award in his honour – the Abebe Bikila Award
, which is given to individuals for their contribution to long-distance running.
A stadium in Addis Ababa is named in his honor. The American Community School of Addis Ababa dedicated its gymnasium to Abebe Bikila in the late 1960s. In August 2005, with the assistance of A Glimmer of Hope Foundation
and its supporters Isabel and Dave Welland, an Oromo school named Yaya Abebe Bikila Primary Village School was erected in Bikila's honor by the local Mendida community. The school sits a few hundred meters from the remains of the village of Jato.
. Footage from that film was later recycled for the 1976 thriller Marathon Man
.
2009 Atletu
(The Athlete) is a truly unique approach to the biographical picture. The award winning film directed by Davey Frankel, Rasselas Lakew focuses on the final years of Bikila's life; his quest to regain Olympic glory, his tragic accident, his determination to compete again. The film was shot in 35mm, from the Arctic Circle to the Equator.
In 2010 Vibram
introduced the "Bikila" model of its FiveFingers
line of barefoot shoes.
Robin Williams
made reference about Bikila's barefoot running in his stand-up special "The Weapons of Self Destruction", saying, "Won the Rome Marathon running barefoot. He got sponsored by Adidas. Next race, he carried the fucking shoes!"
In 2010 the Rome Marathon celebrated 50 years of Abebe Bikila's Olympics Race. To honour him, Ethiopian runner Siraj Gena
ran the last 300 meters of the race barefoot and won it (for this he was awarded 5000 euro bonus).
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. A stadium
Abebe Bikila Stadium
Abebe Bikila Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is currently used mostly for football matches, on club level by Dedebit F.C. of the Ethiopian Premier League. The stadium has a capacity of 30,000 spectators. It is named after Abebe Bikila....
in Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
is named in his honor.
1932–1959
Abebe Bikila was born on August 7, 1932, the day of the Los Angeles Olympic MarathonAthletics at the 1932 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon
The men's marathon long distance event at the 1932 Summer Olympics took place on August 7 started and finished at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.-Final:Key: OR = Olympic record; DNF = did not finish-References:...
, in the village of Jato
JATO
JATO is an acronym for jet-fuel assisted take off. It is a system for helping overloaded aircraft into the air by providing additional thrust in the form of small rockets....
, located 9 kilometers outside the town of Mendida, Ethiopia. His father was a shepherd. Abebe decided to join the Imperial Bodyguard
Kebur Zabangna
Kebur Zabagna or Zebenya was the Ethiopian Imperial Guard. Also known as the First Division, this unit served the dual purposes of providing security for the Emperor of Ethiopia, and being an elite infantry division...
to support his family, and walked to Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
where he started as a private.
Onni Niskanen, a Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
-born Swede
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, was hired by the Ethiopian government to train potential athletes. He soon spotted Bikila.
1960 Summer Olympics
Bikila was added to the Ethiopian Olympic team only at the last moment, as the plane to RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
was about to leave, as a replacement for Wami Biratu, who had broken his ankle in a soccer match. Major Onni Niskanen entered Bikila and Mamo Wolde
Mamo Wolde
Degaga Wolde was an Ethiopian long distance track and road running athlete and was winner of the marathon at the 1968 Summer Olympics....
in the marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
.
Adidas, the shoe sponsor at the 1960 Summer Olympics
1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...
, had few shoes left when Bikila went to try out shoes and he ended up with a pair that didn’t fit comfortably, so he couldn't use them. A couple of hours before the race, Bikila decided to run barefoot, the way he'd trained for the race. Bikila was warned by Niskanen about his main rivals, one of whom was Rhadi Ben Abdesselam
Rhadi Ben Abdesselam
Rhadi Ben Abdesselam was a Moroccan long distance runner. He was born in Errachidia.He competed for Morocco in the 1960 Summer Olympics held in Rome, Italy in the Marathon where he won the silver medal behind Abebe Bikila.-References:...
from Morocco, who was supposed to wear number 26. For unknown reasons, Rhadi did not acquire his black marathon bib
Bib (garment)
A bib is a garment worn hanging from the neck on the chest to protect clothing from spilling.The word, reported in English since 1580, stems from a verb bibben "to drink" , from Latin bibere, either because it was worn while drinking or because it "soaked up" spills.Bibs are frequently used by...
before the race, and instead was wearing his regularly assigned track and field bib number 185.
The late afternoon race had its start point and finish at the Arch of Constantine
Arch of Constantine
The Arch of Constantine is a triumphal arch in Rome, situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill. It was erected to commemorate Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312...
, just outside the Colosseum. At the start of the race the Australian Ron Clarke
Ron Clarke
Ronald William "Ron" Clarke, MBE is a former Australian athlete, writer, and current Mayor of the Gold Coast. He is one of the best known middle and long distance runners in the 1960s, notable for setting seventeen world records.- Early life and family :He attended Melbourne High School...
made a comment to Bikila about running barefoot.
During the race Bikila passed numerous runners as he searched for Rhadi's number 26. By about 20 km, Bikila and Rhadi (actually wearing number 185) had created a gap from the rest of the pack. Bikila kept looking forward to find the runner with number 26, unaware that Rhadi was running right beside him. They stayed together until the last 500 m, when Bikila sprinted to the finish line. Bikila won in a record time of 2:15:16.2, becoming the first Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
n to win an Olympic gold medal. He finished 25 seconds ahead of Rhadi.
After the race, when Bikila was asked why he had run barefoot, he replied, “I wanted the world to know that my country, Ethiopia, has always won with determination and hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
ism."
1960 - 1964
On 13 December 1960, while Haile Selassie was on a state visit to Brazil, his Imperial Guard forces, led by General Mengitsu Neway, staged an unsuccessful coup, briefly proclaiming Selassie's eldest son Asfa Wossen as Emperor. Fighting took place in the heart of Addis Ababa, shells detonated inside the Jubilee Palace, and any of those closest to the Emperor were killed.Bikila took no part in the uprising, but was briefly held in detention after the coup. Most of the surviving Guards were disbanded and dispersed. One newspaper remarked baldly: "Abebe owes his life to his gold medal."
In 1961 Bikila ran marathons in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and Košice
Košice
Košice is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary...
in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, all of which he won. Bikila entered the 1963 Boston Marathon
Boston Marathon
The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest...
and finished in just 5th place—the only time in his career that he finished a marathon and did not win. He returned to Ethiopia and he didn’t compete in another marathon until the one in Addis Ababa in 1964. He won this race, taking 2:23:14 to complete the course.
40 days prior to the 1964 Summer Olympics
1964 Summer Olympics
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...
in Tokyo, during a training run near Addis Ababa, Abebe Bikila started to feel pain. Unaware of the cause of the pain, he attempted to overcome this pain but collapsed. He was taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with acute appendicitis
Appendicitis
Appendicitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. It is classified as a medical emergency and many cases require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. Untreated, mortality is high, mainly because of the risk of rupture leading to...
. He was operated on and shortly thereafter and even during his recovery period he started jogging in the hospital courtyard at night.
1964 Summer Olympics
Abebe Bikila traveled to Tokyo but was not expected to compete. He did enter the marathon, this time wearing Puma shoes. While he had spoken with Kihachiro Onitsuka of the future Asics company, he was pursued actively by Adidas and Puma, ultimately deciding to wear Puma shoes. He used the same strategy as in 1960: to stay with the leaders until the 20 kilometer point, then slowly increase his pace. After 15 km he only had company from Ron ClarkeRon Clarke
Ronald William "Ron" Clarke, MBE is a former Australian athlete, writer, and current Mayor of the Gold Coast. He is one of the best known middle and long distance runners in the 1960s, notable for setting seventeen world records.- Early life and family :He attended Melbourne High School...
of Australia and Jim Hogan
Jim Hogan
James Joseph Hogan is an Irish former distance runner who competed for both Ireland and Great Britain.Hogan's athletic career saw him compete for Ireland at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo...
of Ireland. Shortly before 20 km only Hogan was in contention and by 30 km, Bikila was 40 seconds in front of Hogan and two minutes in front of Kokichi Tsuburaya
Kokichi Tsuburaya
was a Japanese athlete who competed mainly in the Marathon. He competed for Japan in the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan, where he won the bronze medal, and was overtaken within the final 100 meters by Basil Heatley of the UK.After the Tokyo Olympics, Kokichi suffered from lumbago...
of Japan in third place. He entered the Olympic stadium alone to the cheers of 70,000 spectators. He finished the marathon in a new world record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
time of 2:12:11:2; 4 minutes, 8 seconds in front of the silver medalist Basil Heatley
Basil Heatley
Benjamin Basil Heatley was a British athlete, who mainly competed in the marathon. He was born in Kenilworth, Warwickshire....
of Great Britain. Kokichi Tsuburaya was third. He was the first athlete in history to win the Olympic marathon twice. After finishing he astonished the crowd: not appearing exhausted, he started a routine of stretching exercises
Stretching
Stretching is a form of physical exercise in which a specific skeletal muscle is deliberately elongated, often by abduction from the torso, in order to improve the muscle's felt elasticity and reaffirm comfortable muscle tone. The result is a feeling of increased muscle control, flexibility and...
. He later stated that he could have run another 10 kilometers.
Bikila returned to Ethiopia to a hero's welcome once again. He was again promoted by the Emperor, and he received his own car, a white Volkswagen Beetle
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
.
1968 Olympics
Once again Bikila and Mamo WoldeMamo Wolde
Degaga Wolde was an Ethiopian long distance track and road running athlete and was winner of the marathon at the 1968 Summer Olympics....
were entered in the marathon (symbolically, Bikila was issued bib number 1 for this race). This time however Bikila had to leave the race after approximately 17 km, due to an injury in his right knee. According to Bud Greenspan's Favorite Stories, an Olympics documentary, Bikila broke a small bone in his foot a few days before the race, while running barefoot. He watched his friend and long time running partner Mamo Wolde win. Mamo Wolde later stated that if Bikila had not been injured, he would surely have won.
1969 - 1973
In 1969, during civil unrestCivil disorder
Civil disorder, also known as civil unrest or civil strife, is a broad term that is typically used by law enforcement to describe one or more forms of disturbance caused by a group of people. Civil disturbance is typically a symptom of, and a form of protest against, major socio-political problems;...
in Addis, Bikila was driving his Volkswagen Beetle when he had to swerve to avoid a group of protesting students. He lost control of his car and it landed in a ditch, trapping him. He was freed out of the car but the accident left him quadriplegic
Quadriplegia
Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is paralysis caused by illness or injury to a human that results in the partial or total loss of use of all their limbs and torso; paraplegia is similar but does not affect the arms...
. He was operated on at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital
Stoke Mandeville Hospital
Stoke Mandeville Hospital is a large National Health Service hospital within Aylesbury Urban Area to the south of the town of Aylesbury, near the village of Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and his condition improved to paraplegic. Niskanen convinced him to compete in archery competitions for athletes in wheelchairs and Abebe joked that he would win the next Olympic marathon in a wheelchair.
Abebe was invited as a special guest to the 1972 Summer Olympics
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
in Munich where he witnessed his countryman Mamo Wolde
Mamo Wolde
Degaga Wolde was an Ethiopian long distance track and road running athlete and was winner of the marathon at the 1968 Summer Olympics....
fail to match Bikila's twin marathon victories; Wolde finished third behind American Frank Shorter
Frank Shorter
Frank Charles Shorter is a former American long-distance runner who won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics. His victory is credited with igniting the running boom in the United States of the 1970s....
. After Shorter received his medal he went to Bikila to shake his hand.
On the 25 October 1973, Abebe Bikila died in Addis Ababa at the age of 41 from a cerebral hemorrhage, a complication related to the accident of four years earlier. He left behind his wife and four children. His funeral in Addis Ababa was attended by 75,000 and Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I , born Tafari Makonnen, was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974...
proclaimed a national day of mourning
National day of mourning
A national day of mourning is a day marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by that nation's government...
for Ethiopia’s national hero.
Five years after his death, New York Road Runners
New York Road Runners
New York Road Runners , founded in 1958 with 47 members, has grown into the foremost running organization, with a membership of 40,000. NYRR conducts more than 100 events each year, including races, classes, clinics, and lectures...
inaugurated an annual award in his honour – the Abebe Bikila Award
Abebe Bikila Award
The Abebe Bikila Award is an annual prize given by the New York Road Runners club to honour individuals who have made a significant contribution to the sport of long-distance running. The first recipient of the award was Ted Corbitt, a founder of both NYRR and the Road Runners Club of America, who...
, which is given to individuals for their contribution to long-distance running.
A stadium in Addis Ababa is named in his honor. The American Community School of Addis Ababa dedicated its gymnasium to Abebe Bikila in the late 1960s. In August 2005, with the assistance of A Glimmer of Hope Foundation
A Glimmer of Hope Foundation
The A Glimmer of Hope Foundation was founded by Texas-based philanthropists Philip Berber and Donna Berber to reduce extreme poverty in rural Ethiopia. In 2010, Philip and Donna were ranked #7 by Barron's in its list of '25 Best Givers' in the world,...
and its supporters Isabel and Dave Welland, an Oromo school named Yaya Abebe Bikila Primary Village School was erected in Bikila's honor by the local Mendida community. The school sits a few hundred meters from the remains of the village of Jato.
Achievements
- All results regarding marathon, unless stated otherwise
Representing
Quotes
- "I wanted the world to know that my country, Ethiopia, has always won with determination and heroism"
- "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."
In popular culture
Bikila's victory at the 1964 Olympics is featured in the 1965 documentary film Tokyo OlympiadTokyo Olympiad
Tokyo Olympiad is a 1965 documentary film directed by Kon Ichikawa which documents the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Like Leni Riefenstahl's Olympia, which documented the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Ichikawa's film was considered a milestone in documentary filmmaking...
. Footage from that film was later recycled for the 1976 thriller Marathon Man
Marathon Man
Marathon Man is a 1974 conspiracy thriller novel by William Goldman. In 1976 it was made into a film of the same name starring Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, and Roy Scheider and directed by John Schlesinger.-Plot synopsis:...
.
2009 Atletu
The Athlete
The Athlete is a 2009 Ethiopian drama film directed by Davey Frankel and Rasselas Lakew. The film was selected as the Ethiopian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards, but it didn't make the final shortlist...
(The Athlete) is a truly unique approach to the biographical picture. The award winning film directed by Davey Frankel, Rasselas Lakew focuses on the final years of Bikila's life; his quest to regain Olympic glory, his tragic accident, his determination to compete again. The film was shot in 35mm, from the Arctic Circle to the Equator.
In 2010 Vibram
Vibram
Vibram S.p.A. is an Italian company based in Albizzate that both manufactures and licenses the production of Vibram-branded rubber outsoles for footwear. The company is named after its founder, Vitale Bramani. Bramani is credited with inventing the first rubber lug soles for shoes...
introduced the "Bikila" model of its FiveFingers
FiveFingers
Vibram FiveFingers are a type of minimalist shoe manufactured by Vibram, originally marketed as a more "natural" alternative for different outdoors activities . The footwear has thin, flexible soles that are contoured to the shape of the human foot, including visible individual sections for the toes...
line of barefoot shoes.
Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
made reference about Bikila's barefoot running in his stand-up special "The Weapons of Self Destruction", saying, "Won the Rome Marathon running barefoot. He got sponsored by Adidas. Next race, he carried the fucking shoes!"
In 2010 the Rome Marathon celebrated 50 years of Abebe Bikila's Olympics Race. To honour him, Ethiopian runner Siraj Gena
Siraj Gena
Siraj Amda Gena, also known as Giday Amha and Siraj Amda Bene, is an Ethiopian long distance runner who specialises in the marathon...
ran the last 300 meters of the race barefoot and won it (for this he was awarded 5000 euro bonus).