September 10: Abebe Bikila Wins the Olympic Marathon (1960)
Prayer Idea
Pray that you will have strength to run with endurance the race set before you.
History Note
The first modern Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, in 1896 featured a marathon. This was a long-distance race from the town of Marathon to Athens, inspired by a story from ancient Greek history. The marathon has been part of every summer Olympic Games since, and many cities host marathons at other times. The official length of a marathon is 42.195 kilometers (26.21875 miles).
September 10, 1960, saw the running of the marathon in the Olympic Games held in Rome, Italy. The course for the marathon was laid out through the streets of the city. The runners passed the ancient Colosseum and the Obelisk of Aksum. Part of the course was on the Appian Way, paved with cobblestones and lighted with torches as dusk descended on the city.
Abebe Bikila was a 28-year-old man from Ethiopia. He had been a shepherd before he became a bodyguard for Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie. Bikila had taken up competitive running only four years earlier. In Ethiopia millions of people listened to coverage of the 1960 race on the radio.
The race began in late afternoon to avoid the daytime heat in Rome. Sixty-nine runners from 35 nations participated. Because he could not find comfortable shoes, Bikila ran the race barefoot. He reached the finish line at the Arch of Constantine in 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 16.2 seconds—winning the gold medal and setting a new world record.
Bikila’s victory was the first time that a black person from Africa had ever won in Olympic competition. Bikila won the marathon again at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, setting a new world record with a time of 2:12:11.2. He was the first person to win two consecutive Olympic marathons. (He did wear shoes the second time.)
Bikila’s win in 1960 started a tradition of long-distance running champions from Ethiopia and a passion for running that thousands of Ethiopians share even today. Aspiring athletes run on rural roads for hours a day. Villages with good coaches become legendary for the number of champions they produce. The town of Bekoji, for instance, has a population of about 17,000. Runners from there have won 16 Olympic medals, 10 of them gold.
Abebe Bikila crosses the finish line in Rome on September 10, 1960.
Learn More
Watch this biography of Abebe Bikila.
Find more resources at Homeschool History.
