John Akii-Bua and the Role of Mentor and Coach Jerom Ochana

Home-Training and School

John Akii was born to Lira District northern Ugandan Abako chief Rwot Yusef Lusepu Bua, in the Lango region. Akii-Bua was born into a polygynous family, his father had several wives and Akii would eventually have as many as fifty siblings. The family was semi-nomadic in social structure, Akii herded and protected cattle from predators like lions. This mode of existence inevitably required efficient herding boys to be fast on their feet, to be strong and to have stamina, and to be daring and instinctively quick to react to danger and to keep the herds from straying and getting killed and eaten by predators. Many of Africa's greatest athletes have come from semi-nomadic and herding families. For Akii, this familial setting informally shaped his athletic abilities.

John Akii-Bua studied at Abako Primary School, thereafter in 1964 enrolled for junior high school at Aloi Ongom Secondary School in Aloi County (Robert Mugagga in 'Akii-Bua: The Chief’s Son Who Became Athletics King' in "Daily Monitor": July 1, 2012). Akii's stint at a high school education ended in the same year as a result of the death of  his father Lusepu Bua which reduced the family's ability to pay the school fees. The loss also reinforced the need for Akii-Bua to help and contribute materially to his large family. His duties included working in the family's small general retail store.

Akii looked forward to more lucrative opportunities and at 16 traveled south to the Uganda capital Kampala to be recruited into the national police force. At this stage, Akii's potential for athletic greatness was not noticeable. His competing in sports had not been significant, and his presence in school had been so short.

Initial Coaching: Police Recruitment and Hurdles' Africa Record Holder Jerom Ochana

John Akii-Bua started running competitively when he was recruited into the Uganda Police force at Nsambya near Kampala hundreds of miles south of his family home. This formal window into John Akii-Bua's athletic potential was initially shaped by the police drill which routinely started at 5:30am with physical training and three miles of cross-country running. Akii’s stretching flexibility was notable, the cause for his selection into high-hurdling. Jerom (Jerome, Jorem?) Ochana, a high-ranked police officer who was also the Uganda Police athletics coach and Africa’s 440 yard-hurdles record holder, was conveniently there to train Akii. One of the coaching ordeals involved Ochana placing a high-jump bar a couple of feet above the hurdle to shape Akii into learning to keep his head and body low.

Akii recounts the ordeal to Kenny Moore: "Can you see this scar on my forehead? Ochana…made me listen. I used to bleed a lot in our exercises, knocking the hurdles with my knees and ankles, keeping my head down" ("Sports Illustrated": ‘A Play of Light’, November 20, 1972). The police training and the coaching convenience presence of hurdling champion Jerom Ochana were likely the most significant foundation for Akii's path to any future sports glory. Also of significance was that Ochana, just like Akii-Bua, was of the Luo-language and cultural groups of northern Uganda and beyond. This made the communication between coach and promising athlete much easier.

Regarding athletic credentials, Ochana had early in November 1962 won in the 440 yard-hurdles in 52.3 seconds at a track meet in Colombo, Ceylon. This was a tune-up for the forthcoming British Empire Commonwealth Games to be held during the last week of November in Pert, Australia. Unfortunately, in Perth, Ochana did not finish the race in the second of the two heats of the one and only round that would determine the six finalists in the 440 yard-hurdles. However, another prominent Ugandan athlete Benson Ishiepai, who had won in the first heat (52.0) would move on to the finals and win the bronze (52.3), behind Ken Roche (51.5) of Australia and Kenyan Kimaru Songok (51.9). Kimaru Songok is still recognized in Kenya as one of the early mighty and trailblazing athletics legends.

In 1964 Jerom Ochana won in 440 yard-hurdles at East and Central African Championships that were held in the city of Kisumu in Kenya, in quite an impressive 50.8 seconds. Ochana was in Tokyo for the Olympics, this time in the metric 400 meters-hurdles. On October 14, Ochana aged 29 was placed to run in the third of five first round heats that allowed for the three top finishers and next one fastest to advance to the semi-final round. Ochana was eliminated when he finished 4th in 52.4 seconds. In the end, Ochana achieved a 19th overall ranking in the 400mh at the Olympics in Tokyo. Ochana's personal best (50.5) in the 440 yard-hurdles was attained in 1964.

Malcolm Arnold and George Odeke

John Akii-Bua, soon after winning in four police championship events in 1967, became significantly recognized and was thereafter placed under Briton Malcolm Arnold the new national coach. Malcolm Arnold is erroneously regarded as the one who introduced Akii to hurdling. Evidently, Akii's chief influence may well have been Jerom Ochana who unfortunately has been widely forgotten and is little mentioned in the literature. And Akii proved early in his running career, that he was and all-round athlete.

Akii, would for a couple of decades, hold Uganda’s decathlon record of 6933 points set in 1971 in Kampala. Starting from the mid-1970's, less and less attention, and fewer and fewer resources were allotted to the development of field events in Uganda. The presence of Ugandan decathlon athletes waned.

Akii was victorious in the 110 meters-hurdles finals at the East and Central African Championships (an annual event originally primarily involving track and field stars from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia) held in Kampala in 1969. With the influence of the coach Malcolm Arnold, Akii-Bua became convinced that he would reap more rewards as a 400 meters-hurdler. In the finals of the 400mh at the Commonwealth Games (Edinburgh, Scotland from July 16 to 25, 1970) Akii-Bua struggled with a back strain and hernia injury, was trailing last at the final 100 meters, but still raced in fast to come in fourth in 51.14 seconds. John Sherwood (England) was the gold medallist (50.03), Bill (William) Koskei of Uganda (but soon to return to and compete for his native Kenya) second (50.15), and Kipkemboi Charles Yego of Kenya third (50.19).

Arnold would coach Akii into being more skillful and consistent at timing the hurdles. Also, in preparation for the Olympics, Akii while wearing a weighted vest would go through a trying regimen of short- and middle-distance running repetitions with the hurdles mounted inches higher than the conventional length! Akii, also just prior to the Olympics in Munich in 1972 where he won gold while running in the tight lane one and lowered the world record to 47.82 seconds, would move down to southwestern Uganda where he would cross-country train at high-altitude in often pouring rain conditions. Even after decades, coaches and hurdlers look back to Akii's unique training regimen with awe and interest. Malcolm Arnold's coaching stint with the Uganda team (3-4 years) would end soon after the Olympics in Munich. Thereafter, former Uganda sprinter and now assistant coach George Odeke took over as national coach.

Conclusion

Malcolm Arnold has retained most of the credit for coaching and propelling Akii-Bua to Olympic gold. With this practice and resume he went on to successfully coach renowned hurdlers of Great Britain. Arnold had inevitably focused on Akii-Bua given that at the time he was Uganda's top athlete and Olympic medal hope. Akii-Bua must have strongly influenced Arnold's focus on hurdles. But did Arnold make Akii great, or did Akii make Arnold great? Perhaps it is a chicken-and-egg question. Both coach and student contributed to each other's greatness. But home-grown Ugandan Jerom Ochana was the early and main driving force and mentor that Akii-Bua would attribute to fashioning him into a winning hurdler.

Regarding some of the levels, Akii was absent in the top-10 All-Time World Rankings of 1970. But in 1971 he became third after Ralph Mann (USA) and Jean-Claude Nallet (France). In 1972 and 1973, Akii's leading world performances placed Akii comfortably at number 1. Akii was not as active and prominent in 1974, he missed the Commonwealth Games and he became ranked number 8. He resurfaced to number 2 in 1975, behind Alan Pascoe (Great Britain) and ahead of Jim Bolding and Ralph Mann both of the USA.

Works Cited

Moore, Kenny (November 20, 1972). "A Play of Light," in "Sports Illustrated."

Mugagga, Robert (July 1, 2012). "Akii-Bua: The Chief’s Son Who Became Athletics King," in "Daily Monitor."

Jonathan Musere

Allyson Felix: Florence Joyner's Olympic Trials Record Shattered After Twenty-Three Years

Heavily decorated Allyson Michelle Felix, born on November 11th 1985 in Los Angeles, became an American and international track star as a teenager, such that at age 26 she is already a legend and a veteran. Her accolades include USA relay gold medals and many national, world championship and track meet victories in 100m, 200m, and 400m. Her early accolades include a World Youth Championship win (at age 16) in the 100m in Debrecen, Hungary in 2001, and a gold medal in the 4 x 100m USA team relay at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo in 2003. What Felix certainly longs for is that individual Olympic medal that she competed for in the 100m and 200m at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. At both Olympics, held respectively in Athens and Beijing, Felix was beaten into second in the 200m.

On June 30th 2012 in Eugene at the USA Olympic Trials in Oregon, her national victory in the 200m proved that she is on track to bag the gold in the event at the Olympic Games to be held in London during July and August of 2012. On June 30th, in the 200m national Olympic Trials finals, Allyson Felix (21.69) beat her highly competent and heavily decorated veteran team-mates Carmelita Jeter (22.11) and Sanya Richards-Ross (22.22) who had already qualified for London in other sprint events, by a significant margin.

The personal-best win established Felix as the new Olympic Trials 200m record holder, as the meet record previously established by legendary Florence Griffith-Joyner (21.77) on July 22nd 1988 when Allyson was 2 years-old, became obliterated! ALL-IS-ON! A previously anxious crowd of spectators became elated by the performance, Allyson was all-smiles! Besides an Olympic gold, another personal best, even a new world record is not out of the picture in the future of young Allyson Felix!

Only two Americans have established better times in the 200m. Griffith-Joyner established the world records 21.56  and 21.34 on September 29th 1988 at the Olympics in Seoul in the semi-finals and finals, respectively. The other with a better time than Felix is Marion Jones who ran in 21.62 on September 11th 1998 at the IAAF World Championships held in Johannesburg. Coincidentally, both "Flo-Jo" and Marion Jones were also residents of Los Angeles.

Felix together with team-mate Jeneba Tarmoh (11.07) were previously declared equally tied third in the 100m finals at the same Trials. The eventual third American competitor in the 100m was scheduled to be determined by the beginning of July. The winner in the event was Carmelita Jeter (10.92) , followed by Tianna Madison (10.96).

Jonathan Musere

John Akii-Bua and the Olympic Timeline

August 31st, 1972;  22 year-old John Akii-Bua (50.35 seconds) wins in the fourth heat of the five Round One 400 meters-hurdles heats. Stavros Tziortzis (50.54s) who had earlier during the same year beaten a sickly Akii-Bua into second place, at a track meet in Europe, finishes second (50.54). Olympic medal hope William (Bill) Koskei of Kenya, who won Uganda the silver medal in the same event at the Commonwealth of Nations' Games in Edinburgh in 1970, had disappointingly finished fourth (50.58) in the second heat of this Round One. Koskei is eliminated from moving on to the semi-finals. The top three finishers of each of the five heats, plus one hurdler with the next best time, move on to the Semi-Final Round of sixteen hurdlers.

September 1st, 1972; John Akii-Bua (49.25 seconds) wins in the first of the two Semi-Final heats. It is notable that in this heat, Akii-Bua is drawn in lane 2 to race against two other top medal hopes: David Peter Hemery of Great Britain who is the Olympic champion and world record holder; and Ralph Mann of the United States who has the world leading time in the intermediate hurdles and is ranked number one in the world at the event. Akii-Bua commendably beats Ralph Vernon Mann (49.53), and Dave Hemery (49.66). Here, Akii-Bua races with these arch-rivals for the first time ever. Akii-Bua's confidence that he will win, is reinforced. The top four finishers of each of the Semi-Final heats are the finalists. He aims to smash the world record by about a second.

September 2nd, 1972; John Akii-Bua (47.82 seconds), despite being drawn into disadvantageously tight lane 1 wins in the final in a new Olympic and World record. He becomes the first man ever to officially run the race in under 48 seconds. In a photo-finishing fight, Ralph Mann (48.51) is second and Dave Hemery (48.52) wins the bronze. After four decades Akii-Bua still owns the 47.82 Uganda record; and this is still one of the best times by an African hurdler. Akii-Bua remains Africa's only Olympic gold medal winning hurdler; the only African with an olympic gold in a track event that is less than 800m.

July 1976 in Montreal; Uganda boycotts the Olympic Games, alongside nearly 30 mostly African countries. The boycott is over the International Olympic Committee (IOC) not banning New Zealand from the Olympics after the NZ national rugby team toured apartheid South Africa earlier in the year. Akii-Bua had trained hard, in the same year established a personal best and Uganda record in the 400m flat. He was looking forward to defending his Olympic title. Fast improving Edwin Moses of the United States had become the main international attraction among the intermediate hurdlers. Moses would win the gold and smash Akii-Bua's world record. It is also notable that In the third week of June 1976, Akii-Bua's thigh (left hamstring) muscle tore. This injury could have reduced his chances at competing or performing well at 1976 Olympics.

July 24th 1980 at the Grand Arena in the Central Lenin Stadium Area in Moscow, Akii-Bua now 30 years of age is placed in the first heat of three in Round One of the 400 meters-hurdles. The first four leaders in each heat, plus four with the next fastest time would move on to the semi final round of 16. Akii-Bua (50.87), long past his prime is fifth. After all three heats, the times are tallied, and Akii-Bua is able to move on to the semi-finals. Notably, over sixty countries including the United, most rallying around protesting the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, did not compete in Moscow. Competition was significantly reduced.

July 25th, 1980; Akii-Bua (51.10), running in the second of the two Semi-Final heats is beaten into seventh place and eliminated from moving on to the final. The eight hurdlers with the fastest times are the finalists.

July 31, 1980; Akii-Bua competes in Round One as part of Uganda 4x400m relay team. Uganda is placed in the second of the three heats. The top two finishing countries of each heat, plus the next two fastest countries would be the finalists. Uganda (3:07.0) was fifth and was eliminated from moving on to the finals. This would be the last time Akii-Bua would compete at the Olympics.

Jonathan Musere

Abebe Bikila and the Marathon: The Legend, and the Two Olympic Golds and World Records

Ethiopian legend Abebe Bikila was Africa's first world record breaking athlete/ marathoner and first Ethiopian and first sub-Saharan African Olympic gold medallist. He would also become Africa's first Olympic double-gold medallist and double world-breaking athlete. No one else in the world has won two Olympic gold medals in the marathon, while simultaneously breaking the world record! The statistics and the honors go on and on, and many structures and trophies exist in honor of the infinitely memorable Abebe Bikila.

To many, Bikila was Africa' overall first Olympic marathon gold medallist. However the continental African Alain Mimoun (Alain Mimoun O'Kacha) of Algeria which was then a colony of France won the marathon gold medal at the previous Olympics held in Melbourne in 1956. Mimoun was listed as a competitor for France throughout his legendary running career during which he won one Olympic gold medal, three Olympic silver medals, and four Mediterranean Games gold medals. And even before Mimoun, there was Algeria-born Ahmed Boughera el Ouafi who won the Olympic marathon gold in Amsterdam in Amsterdam but considered himself French. The 1956 Olympic win by Mimoun brought back the spotlight on Boughera El Ouafi who was then miring in poverty! At the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome on September 10th, Bikila who had previously never ran the marathon outside Ethiopia, and did not start running competitively until he was 24 years old, completed the course in the world record 2hrs-15min:16.2secs.

The previous world record was held by Sergei Popov (2-15:17.0) of the Soviet Union. The Rome 1960 marathon course was quite trying given that Bikila's bare feet had to contend with the heavily cobble-stoned Rome roads. Further, because of the heat, the race began at sunset and even had to be guided by Rome's armed forces holding up torches in the dark. Aforementioned previous Olympic marathon champion Alain Mimoun, aged 39, finished 34th in 2-31:20.0. As the winner in Melbourne, 35 year-old Mimoun had finished in a relatively slow 2-25:00.

Abebe Bikila was born on August 7th 1932 in Jato Village in the Semien Shewa (~North Shewa) zone of the province Amhara in Ethiopia. As a competitive runner Bikila was approximately 130 pounds (60 kg), very slender at a tall 5' 10" (1.77m). The son of an Oromo shepherd, Bikila was a last-minute addition to the Ethiopian Olympic team. Bikila had moved from Jirru Village early in the 1950's after leaving his father and rejoining his mother in Addis Ababa. Bikila became impressed by the city, and most of all the neatly dressed and precise and disciplined Imperial Bodyguards. He would join the force and became a private in 1956. Abebe had as a youngster been known to be a good swimmer, a skillful horse rider, and a guna hockey player. About the forthcoming Olympics, the preferred 1960 marathon entrant Wami Biratu had recently suffered a broken ankle from playing soccer and Bikila was added to the national team just before the plane to Rome would leave. Legendary Mamo Wolde who would win Olympic silver/ gold and bronze, later on in the 1968 and 1972 respectively would also be an Olympian in Rome where would fourth in the 10000m finals. As for Bikila, the last-minute inconvenience also involved the shoe sponsor Adidas not having enough shoes left to avail to athletes. The closest to his shoe-size were poorly fitting and uncomfortable that two hours before the marathon race Bikila decided to run barefooted--just like he had trained at home for the race. For the first quarter of the race, Abebe was behind but in eye-distance the leading pack. He speeded up and after a third of the distance had caught up with the leading pack that included Aurele Vandendriessche (Van den Riessche) of Belgium, Arthur Kelly (Great Britain) and Rhadi Ben Abdesselam (Morocco). Halfway through the race, it was Rhadi and Bikila in the forefront and running side-by-side. But Abebe did not know that this was the Rhadi that he had been warned about! Before the race, Bikila's Finnish-Swedish trainer Major Onni Niskanen whose primary duties were to set up the Ethiopian Imperial Guard in which Bikila was a private, indicated to Bikila that one of his main rivals would be the Moroccan Rhadi who was assigned to wear "26" on his bib. However, Rhadi mysteriously did not wear his black marathon bib, and instead wore his regularly assigned track (he also competed in the 10000m) bib that was numbered "186." Rhadi had not even been listed in the marathon program! As the race progressed, Bikila searched and looked in the distance.for the athlete numbered "26" as he passed other athletes. Bikila had been unaware that the athlete numbered "186" and running beside to him after the two had created quite a significant lead from the rest of the pack was actually Rhadi. At three miles toward the end of the race, the two then ran alongside each other neck-to-neck. A quarter mile towards the end, Bikila unleashed a sprint for the finishing line after gaining a considerable distance from Rhadi! Bikila won by nearly 200 yards ahead of Rhadi, beating a field of 75 men. At the end of the race, Bikila still looked fresh and ran quite past the finishing line. He exercisingly stretched and jumped up and down after the race, and later claimed that he would have been capable of maintaining the same pace for ten more miles. Bikila, undoubtedly, would have lowered the world record further.

Asked by John Underwood (1965: 4) as to why Bikila had ran barefooted in Rome, Major Onni Niskanen would years later remark:

"...not...strange for an Ethiopian to run barefoot... When he runs I...count—98 steps a minute barefoot.... With shoes, 96.... But shoes are better on a strange course because of stones...things...might cut you. ...in Rome we could not get the shoes...right. He had blisters from some he...tried. ...Abebe said to me '...I will win without shoes. We will make...history for Africa.' He is a great patriot" Niskanen adds: "Before 1959 I hardly knew...Abebe.... He...third in the marathon trials for...Olympics...he was 27.... At the beginning...trouble. He did not hold his head properly, his arms flew all over...balance...bad. I had to [nearly] keep yelling at him. ...sometimes he was hard to convince.... But the dedication, the willpower of this man—none like him.... Abebe was made by Abebe, not by me or anyone. People asked if he was surprised he won in Rome. He had never run out of the country before. ...Abebe...always expects to win. ...He has no anxieties" (Underwood 1965: 5).

On May 7th 1961, Bikila participated in the fourth Classical Marathon. Here in Athens, a barefooted-running Bikila was the victor in 2:23:44.6, defeating marathoners from Finland, Turkey, United Arab Republic, Belgium, and Greece ("Ethiopian Runs Barefooted, Sets Marathon Mark" in "St. Joseph Gazette," May 8th 1961, page 7). On July 25th 1961, Bikila was a participant in the annual Osaka (Mainichi) Marathon. This marathon striated in 1946 in Osaka and in 1962 was renamed Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon when the competition was relocated to Otsu city which is the home of Japan's oldest and largest lake (Biwa). Bikila had earlier been laid off from competition by his coach, for six months, to allow for recovery from a leg ligament injury acquired at the starting of a race in Praha. The conditions in Osaka. were notably chaotic with the now legendary Olympian becoming halted to a stop three times during the course by excited fans who darted in to take flicks of him! A whole 19 of the 47 competitors were frustrated enough (also courtesy of the very high temperatures) to quit the race. Though Bikila won, he was timed at a relatively slow 2-29:27. Nevertheless, a good-natured Bikila was to remark, "At least I'm thankful for the cheers of the crowd" ("A Roundup Of The Sports Information Of The Week" in "SI Vault": July 10th 1961).

In the 1962 New Year's Sao Silvestre "around-the-houses" 7300m (4.5 miles) street race held in Sao Paulo in Brazil, Bikila was beaten into second place by the schoolmaster Martin Hyman of the United Kingdom. Hyman finished in 21:24.7, 5.1 seconds ahead of Bikila. Later, on October 12th 1962, Bikila would win in the marathon held in Kosice in Czechoslovakia in 2:20:12. In the same year, in Berlin, Bikila won in the 10000m run at a track meet. He became internationally ranked as among the top ten runners in the distance. The same year, in Copenhagen witnessed Bikila win a 20000m race in which he finished in 1-11.0.

At the Boston AA marathon staged in April 1963, Bikila seemingly wobbly toward the last stretch, was beaten by the Belgian Aurele Vandendriessche (Van den Rieessche). The Rieessche finish in 2-18:58 involved Vandendriessche became surprised at catching up with the leading Bikila when there were two miles left. It was a course record in an event that fielded nearly 300 runners! Vandendriessche, who held the 30000m world record, won by about 450 meters (In "Lewiston Daily Sun," April 20th 1963, pp 6: "Belgian Bookkeeper, Vandendriessche Establishes Record; Johnny Kelley Second"). Bikila was surprisingly fifth behind second-placed Johnny Kelly of Connecticut (2-21:00), then Brian Kilby (2-21:43) of England, with 3-time Boston Marathon and defending champion and detective Eino Oksannen of Finland settling for fourth place in 2-22:23. Bikila (2-24:43) would claim that his loss was a result of his misreading the route. This was the first time in the foregone ten races Bikila had participated in, that he had lost! Perhaps the muscles on his spindly legs were getting worn out! But no Olympic champion had ever won in the Boston Marathon! About the Boston Marathon, Major Niskanen who had not accompanied his athlete this time, suggested that the temperatures were low and Bikila had not dressed up appropriately for the challenging cold. Plus he and Mamo Wolde did not have the glucose that would have negated the lactic acid builds-up; both started cramping about five miles to the end when Bikila lost his lead. Both intermittently stopped and sat and massaged their legs up to four times (Underwood 1965: 5).

Also noteworthy of the marathon is that in 1963, the world record was shattered three times, and then once prior to the forthcoming Olympics that would take place in Tokyo in 1964. On February 17th 1963, 28 year-old Toru Terasawa of Japan reduced Bikila's world record by less than a second to 2-15:15.8 during the Beppu-Oita Marathon held on the Kyushu Island in Japan. Later, on June 15th 1963, Leonard Edelen (Leonard Graves "Buddy" Edelen) of the United States improved on that to 2-14:28 and thus became the first sub 2-15 marathoner. This was during the Polytechnic Marathon (an annual run that was held in or around London between 1909 and 1996 and was notably the first marathon to be held regularly). Less than a month later, on July 6th 1963, Brian Leonard Kilby of the United Kingdom, at that time the European and also Commonwealth Games champion, won Port Talbot Marathon in Wales. Although Kilby finished in 2-14:43, many regard this as having been a world record, indicating that there was some mis-recording or disputation over Leonard Edelen's previous faster marathon finishing. Just prior to the forthcoming Olympics in Tokyo, Basil Heatley (Benjamin Basil Heatley) of the United Kingdom established a new world record as a competitor in the Polytechnic Marathon. He won in 2-13:55.

The Olympics were only four months away and Bikila, who had been hardly competitive and impressive in 1963, was training hard for Tokyo! Even then, four to six weeks before the Olympics, Bikila's troubling appendix was removed, the coach Niskanen fearsome that it might burst during the forthcoming Tokyo quest! The doctors assured Niskanen that Bikila's slender build would enhance his chances to recover quickly and be well prepared for the Olympics. Indeed Bikila would return to training, two weeks after the appendectomy!

At the Ethiopian Olympic trials, Bikila finished in a relatively impressive 2-16:18.8, beating Mamo Wolde by a second! Previously, on May 31st in a local marathon in Addis Ababa, Bikila had won the race in 2-23:14.8. In Tokyo at the 1964 Olympics, Sergeant Bikila was comfortably ahead and out-of-sight of the rest of the 68-man pack with more than 10 miles to go. Abebe had previously stayed close to the leading pack that was lead by Ron Clarke of Australia and Jim Hogan of Ireland. In the end, Bikila finished more than four minutes ahead of runner-up Basil Heatley (2-16:19.2); Ron Clarke was ninth; Mamo Wolde did not finish. After winning at the Olympics in Tokyo, in a new marathon world record time of 2-12:12.2, Bikila performed calisthenics, push-ups and sit-ups similar to what he did after the races. The 80000 spectators were amazed and amused. But it turned out that Bikila did this, not to show off, but in the belief that exercising after the races would reduce the probability of his body stiffening and cramping. In this race he wore shoes, and even long socks to keep him warm. "Abebe plodded into the stadium ahead of his nearest pursuers, and trotted once around. He raised his arms to break the tape, and then he ran over to the infield grass and flopped on his back and did some bicycle-like exercises with his legs in the air" (Associated Press; 1964). Bikila would, throughout his international running career, be the subject of curiosity. Was his marathon running endurance associated with adaptation to high-altitude running that is associated with east African world record breaking athletes? What did he eat? Many measured such aspects. Many regard Bikila as the greatest marathoner, ever. He is also credited for halting the tradition of running with the pack and breaking away for the win near the end of the race. Bikila became the modern marathoner by running his own race, sometimes leaving the rest of the pack ahead or far behind instead of taking cues from them. Bikila became the first runner ever to win two Olympic marathon gold medals, the first African ever to win double gold at the Olympics.

Perhaps with memories of his legendary world athletic status and notably his winning of the Osaka Marathon in 1961, and his familiar looks of a slender hollow-cheeked runner, Abebe Bikila had prior to the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics ranked by Japanese women as the foremost affectionate darling. As a Japan celebrity Abebe was comfortably ahead of much younger well-built figures like the 1964 Olympic heavyweight boxing champion and future legend Joseph "Joe" Frazier (USA) and Donald ("Don") Arthur Schollander (USA) who won five gold and one silver medals in swimming at the same Olympics (Richman 1964: 14). On May 9th 1965 Bikila competed in the Otsu Marathon, near Tokyo, and won. The following year he won in the Zarautz (Zarauz) Marathon in Barcelona, finishing in 2-20.28.8. On October 30th 1966 at the Seoul Marathon in South Korea, Bikila was the victor in 2-17.04. Apart from the Boston Marathon of 1963, Abebe Bikila had won in all the marathons that he competed in. Bikila at 36 years of age did appear in Mexico City for the 1968 Olympics.

Only days before the marathon in Mexico City, just before a training road run, Bikila expressed guarded confidence: "Of course I expect to win here I have never felt better....Anything can happen in such a long race... I believe that if anyone can beat me, it will be one of my countrymen--Mamo Wolde or Marawi Gabru" ("Bikila Seeks Third Marathon" in Montreal Gazette: October 2, 1968). In the same vein, Bikila expressed that the high-altitude conditions, which simulated the conditions in his native Ethiopia would favor his team. But ultimately a stress fracture would prevent Bikila from becoming impressive. He was ill in bed for four days before the starting of the race. He dropped out at about 6 miles into the marathon. Instead, friend and fellow team-mate Mamo Wolde (ironically also 36 years old) won--this establishing three consecutive Ethiopian wins in the marathon at the Olympics--an unprecedented national and international feat! Wolde finished in 2-20: 26.4, more than three minutes ahead of runner-up Kenji Kimihara of Japan.

The other Ethiopian hope, Gabrou Merawi [Marawi Gabru] (also aged 36), was sixth. But March 22nd 1969 would be a tragic one for Bikila. While driving at night in his Volkswagen Beetle, he swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle and his beetle rolled down a ditch. His sixth and seventh vertebrae became dislocated and Bikila became a quadriplegic. Despite all the medical attention, including that of Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England, Bikila was unable to use his legs again. He had some limited recreational and competitive success as an archer. Use of his fingers was limited, such that he stretched the bow with his wrist and held the bow with a custom-designed hook on his right hand. At the end of July 1969, a determined Bikila finished ninth in the Novice Archery Class at the Wheelchair Olympics. He was a guest at the 1972 Olympics in Munich where the gold medallist Frank Shorter acknowledged and honored him. In 1973, Bikila just aged 41 died from a stroke-related brain hemorrhage. Many events, trophies and structures are named after Abebe Bikila. He became the first internationally recognized black African athlete that signaled the growing significance of African runners.

Summary of Abebe Bikila's Major Performances

July 3rd 1960; (1st) in 2-39:50; Addis Ababa Marathon, Ethiopia.

August 7th 1960; (1st) in 2-21:23; Addis Ababa Marathon, Ethiopia.

September 10th 1960; (1st) in 2:15:17; Olympic gold medal and world record, Rome.

May 7th 1961; (1st) in 2-23:45; Athens Classical Marathon, Greece.

June 25th 1961; (1st) in 2-29:27; Mainichi Marathon, Osaka.

October 8th 1961; (1st) in 2-20:12; Kosice Marathon, Czechoslovakia.

April 19th 1963; (5th) in 2-24:43; Boston Marathon, USA.

May 31st 1964; (1st) in 2-23:14.8; Addis Ababa Marathon, Ethiopia.

August 3rd 1964; (1st) in 2-16:18.8 Ethiopian Olympic Trials, Addis Ababa.

October 21st 1964; (1st) in 2-12:11.2; Olympic gold medal and world record, Tokyo.

May 9th 1965; (1st) in 2-22:55.8; Otsu Marathon, Tokyo.

July 24th 1966; (1st) in 2-20:28.8 Zarauz Marathon, Spain.

October 30th 1966; (1st) in 2-17:04; Seoul Marathon; South Korea.

Works Cited

Associated Press (October 22, 1964). "Fastest Marathon Ever and Abebe Did Not Tire," in "Calgary Herald."

Montreal Gazette (October 2, 1968). "Bikila Seeks Third Marathon."

Richman, Milton (October 27, 1964). "Skinny Ethiopian Toast of the Olympics," in "The Deseret News."

SI Vault (July 10, 1961). "A Roundup Of The Sports Information Of The Week."

St. Joseph Gazette (May 8, 1961). "Ethiopian Runs Barefooted, Sets Marathon Mark."

Underwood, John (April 12, 1965). "The Number Two Lion In The Land Of Sheba" in "SI Vault."

Jonathan Musere