"..it had taken an entire Italian army to conquer Ethiopia, but only one Ethiopian soldier to conquer Rome.."
In commemoration of Abebe Bikila's birthday, here is a brief biographical sketch of the ground breaking athlete from Ethiopian Calendar with Biographies -2004 E.C. edition.
Abebe Bikila 1924-66 EC (1932 - 1973)Sport legend. Olympic hero. the First black African to win an Olympic medal, and the first man ever to win two Olympic marathons.in 2 consecutive Olympics, 1960 in Rome and 1964 in Tokyo.
Abebe was born in August 1932 in a village called Jato, about 130 kilo-meters away from Addis Ababa, near Debre Birhan. His parents were Woizero Wudinesh Menberu and Ato Bikila Demissie. Like most other boys in the area, he spent most of his childhood as a shepherd and a student. At the age of 12, he completed the primary level of traditional church education. At this age, Abebe had already distinguished himself as an exceptional player of traditional hockey known as Gena. In 1952, young Abebe was hired by the Imperial Guard. There, he participated in both athletics and "Gena" contests. In 1954 he married Yewibdar Wolde Giorghis with whom he fathered four children.
It took several years for Abebe to come out as a fine athlete at the Imperial Guard. His defining moment came when, once, he was watching a parade of Ethiopian athletes who had participated in the Melbourne Olympics. Looking at these athletes who were wearing a sport outfit with the name "Ethiopia" written on the back, he asked who they were. When told that they were athletes who represented Ethiopia in the Olympics, he was determined to be one of them. In 1956, at the age of 24, Abebe participated in the National Armed Forces championships.
The hero of the time was Wami Biratu who held the national re-cords in 5,000 and 10,000-meter races. During the marathon race, the crowd at the stadium was waiting to see Wami Biratu come as a winner. In the first few kilometers, Wami was leading. After a while, radio broadcasters informed the crowd that a young unknown ath-lete by the name of Abebe was leading. As Abebe was extending his lead, the crowd waited anxiously to see this new sensation. Abebe easily won his first major race and later on went to break the 5,000 and 10,000-Meter records held by Wami. With these impressive results, Abebe qualified for the Rome Olympics. Finally, Abebe‘s dream of wearing that sport out-fit with Ethiopia‘s name written on the back was realized.Abebe‘s race in the Rome Olympics was what established him as a legend and a household name all over the globe. Not only did he win the race, but also set a new world record at 2:16:2. He was also the first African to win an Olympics medal. Commenting on why he ran barefoot, Abebe said, "I wanted the world to know that my country Ethiopia has al-ways won with determination and heroism."
Four years later during the Tokyo Olympics, Abebe‘s fame had already reached all corners of the globe. Six weeks before the big race that awaited him, Abebe was taken ill with ap-pendicitis. He underwent surgery amid a public outcry for a proper medical team to decide on the procedure. The day he arrived in Tokyo, Abebe hadn‘t fully recovered from the sur-gery and limped his way down the stairs. However, the reception Abebe received from the Japanese people helped him recover rather quickly. Along with his colleagues Mamo Wolde and Demissie Wolde, Abebe resumed his regular training within a few days of his arrival in Tokyo. The marathon race, particularly the way Abebe won it barely six weeks after his surgery and the gymnastic display he showed right after finishing the race victoriously, is a classic image engraved in the minds of hundreds of millions of people. This was also the first time ever that the marathon race was won consecutively by an athlete. The new record of 2:12:11 that Abebe set was also an icing on a cake for this remarkable race.
Abebe trained hard for the Mexico City Olympics of 1968. Unfortunately, he had to withdraw from the race after running 15 kilometers due to illness. His compatriot, Mamo Wolde, would later finish the race victoriously.
Abebe had competed in more than 26 major marathon races in his illustrious athletic career. The world championships he won in 1960 and 1964 deserve special recognition.
In 1968 after returning from Mexico, the legendary athlete was involved in a car acci-dent in the town of Sheno, 78 Kilometers northeast of Addis Ababa. Over the follow-ing nine months, he received medical treatment both in Ethiopia and abroad. How-ever, he remained paralyzed the waist below for the rest of his life. Even while on wheelchair, Abebe‘s competitive spirit and desire to see his country‘s flag hoisted high and proud helped him win in several races. In 1970, he participated in a 25-kilometer cross-country sledge competition in Norway where he won the gold medal. Again, in the same tournament, he won a similar 10-KM race where he was awarded a special plaque.
The illustrious life of the legendary Abebe Bikila came to a tragic end in October of 1973 when he finally succumbed to a disease he had battled for many months. This eternal Ethiopian hero was buried in the grounds of St. Joseph church in Addis Ababa in the presence of a huge crowd and Emperor Haile Selassie.
This biographical sketch is in large part obtained from MediaEthiopia.com and reprinted here with permission. Other sources include a 1996 book written by his daughter Tsige Abebe entitled Triumph and Tragedy—A history of Abebe Bikila and his marathon career.‘