On the Run!

After two weeks vacation in Sardinia, it’s quite hard to get it running again… On the beach, I read an interesting book about the life of the marathon runner Abebe Bikila: “Barefoot Runner” by Paul Rambali. 

Abebe Bikila was born 1932 in Ethiopia. He was spotted by Onni Niskanen, a Finn hired by the Ethiopian government to train potential athletes. He joined the Ethiopian athletic team only in the last moment to participate in the 1960 Olympic summer games in Rome. In a fascinating race, he won the Olympic marathon in a time of 2:15:16 running barefoot, as no pair of shoes fit him. He was the first black African athlete to win an Olympic gold medal.

Shortly after returning to Addis Abeba in Ethiopia, he was sentenced to death. Bikila, who didn’t understand politics, had been forced to take part in a coup. The coup attempt failed and Bikila was pardoned by the Emperor Haile Selassie.

He repeated his marathon triumph in the 1964 summer Olympic games in Tokyo in a new record time of 2:12:11 – notably only 4 weeks after an operation because of appendicitis.

In 1969, he suffered a car accident which left him quadriplegic. He subsequently participated in archery competitions. He died in 1973.

The book tells the fascinating story of an outstanding athlete. Moreover, it gives interesting insights into the evolution of Ethiopian runners who now dominate running.

I was also fascinated by Onni Niskanen, the coach of Abebe Bikila. He contributed a lot to the success of the Ethiopian runners, and he set the base for their success which goes on until today.

Onni Niskanen (on the right), the coach of Abebe Bikila, in 1976 in Uppsala, Sweden. On the left sits his brother Arne. © Photo courtesy of Pia Haldin.