Abebe Bikila

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Arts & Culture

Abebe Bikila

Ethiopian athlete

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Abebe Bikila

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Category: Arts & Culture

Born:: August 7, 1932, Mont, Ethiopia

Died:: October 25, 1973, Addis Ababa (aged 41)

Awards And Honors:: Olympic Games

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Abebe Bikila (born August 7, 1932, Mont, Ethiopia—died October 25, 1973, Addis Ababa) was an 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 was the first athlete to win two Olympic marathons. The son of a shepherd, Bikila began running at age 24. He was little known outside of Ethiopia when he entered the 1960 Olympics and ran the marathon, barefoot, on the cobblestones of the Appian Way. Tied for the lead for ...(100 of 203 words)

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