He was the first person to win the Olympic marathon consecutively, doing so in 1960 and 1964. Abebe Bikila was the first African to win the Olympic marathon gold medal and is known as the first athlete to win two Olympic gold medals in marathon.
Abebe Bikila Biography, Life, Interesting Facts Abebe Bikila Demissiewas born on 7th August 1932 to Bikila Demissie and Wudinesh Beneberu. He was the first athlete to win two Olympic marathons. Demissie senior was Beneberu's second husband. He won the marathon at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome while running barefoot, setting a world record.
2020 abebe bikila biography
Abebe Bikila, (born August 7, 1932, Mont, Ethiopia—died October 25, 1973, Addis Ababa), Ethiopian marathon runner who won a gold medal and set a world record while running barefoot at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, then bested his own record at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. He then run in in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo and not only defended his title but also bested his own record in the distance.Abebe is consi… In the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome, to the surprise of many, Abebe run the marathon bare foot in the cobblestone roads of Rome, and set a world record.
The runners began at 5:30 p.m. in the Campidoglio, a square designed by Michelangelo, on Capitoline Hill, and wound through Rome. His birthday coincided with the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Marathon.
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