Abebe Bikila, a 28-year old member of Ethiopia's Imperial Palace Guard, caused a sensation at the 1960 Rome Olympics when he won the marathon barefoot while completing the gruelling 42.195-kilometer run in a world best of 2 hours 15 minutes and 16.2 seconds. Four years later in Tokyo, Bikila repeated his gold medal run -- but this time with shoes and socks -- in another world best time of 2 hours 12 minutes and 11.2 seconds. This made him the first man to win back-to-back Olympic marathon titles.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Olympic Games 101
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