Abebe Bikila

Shambel Abebe Bikila won back-to-back Olympic gold medals at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics. He was the first athlete to successfully defend an Olympic marathon title. Abebe was paralysed due to a car accident in 1969. He died at age 41 on October 25, 1973, of a cerebral hemorrhage related to his accident.

About Abebe Bikila in brief

Shambel Abebe Bikila was an Ethiopian marathon runner. He won back-to-back Olympic gold medals at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics. He was the first athlete to successfully defend an Olympic marathon title. Abebe was paralysed due to a car accident in 1969. He died at age 41 on October 25, 1973, of a cerebral hemorrhage related to his accident four years earlier. He is the subject of biographies and films documenting his athletic career, and he is often featured in publications about the marathon and the Olympics. Many schools, venues, and events in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, are named after him. His son, Wudinesh Beneberu, was a member of the Ethiopian Imperial Guard. He joined the 5th Infantry Regiment of the Imperial Guard in 1952. In 1956, Abebe finished second to Wami Biratu in the Ethiopian Armed Forces championship. Mamo Wolde, Juma Ikangaa, Tegla Loroupe, Paul Tergat, and Haile Gebrselassie are some of the athletes who have followed in his footsteps to establish East Africa as a force in long-distance running. He married 15-year-old Yewebdar Wewe-Gis on March 16, 1960. Although the marriage was arranged by his mother, Abe be remained married for the rest of his life. He had a state funeral, and Emperor Haile Selassie declared a national day of mourning. He ran 20 km from the hills of Sululta to AddisAbaba and back every day in the mid-1950s.

In July 1960, he placed second on his first marathon in Addi Ababa. He finished fifth in the 1963 Boston Marathon. He competed in archery and table tennis at the 1970 Stoke Mandeville Games in London. Those Games were an early predecessor of the Paralympic Games. He also won its cross-country sleigh-riding event. He never walked again. He has been called a pioneer in long distance running. His death in 1973 was a state funerary, and his son Wudineh was buried in the same town where he grew up in Jato, Shewa. His birthday coincided with the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Marathon. His family was forced to move to the remote town of Gorro, then part of the Selale District of Shewa, during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. His mother divorced Abebe’s father and married Temtime Kefelew. He became a soldier in 1952 and later joined the Ethiopian imperial guard. He participated in a total of sixteen marathons. In the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, he won his first gold medal. He then won his second gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics in Tokyo. In both victories, he ran in world record time. His time of 21:23:23 was faster than the existing Olympic record held by Emil Zátopek.

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