The character arc of Abebe Bikila

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born 7 August 1932 in Jato, Shewa. Died 25 October 1973 in Addis Ababa, aged forty one. Between the two sit the Imperial Guard, a marriage in March 1960, an Olympic marathon won barefoot that September, a second won in October 1964 forty days after an appendectomy, a car accident in March 1969, and a wheelchair games in 1970. The line below draws that whole life in order.

Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who was Abebe Bikila?

No shoes in Rome, and forty days after surgery he ran it again.

He was born in Jato in 1932 and around 1952 joined the 5th Infantry Regiment of the Ethiopian Imperial Guard, having moved to Addis Ababa. He married Yewebdar Wolde-Giorgis on 16 March 1960. That September he went to the Rome Olympics, and the shoes he had been given caused blisters, so he ran the marathon barefoot, through the streets of Rome, and won it in two hours fifteen minutes and sixteen point two seconds.

Four years later he did something harder. Forty days before the Tokyo Olympics he had an appendectomy. He ran the marathon anyway, on 21 October 1964, and won in two hours twelve minutes and eleven point two seconds, becoming the first athlete ever to win two Olympic marathons. Forty days is not a recovery period for a marathon. It is barely a recovery period for walking.

He tore a hamstring at the Zarautz International Marathon in July 1967. On 22 March 1969 a car accident left him paraplegic, and a week later he was transferred to Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England. He did not stop competing: in 1970 he entered archery and table tennis at the Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Games. He died on 25 October 1973 in Addis Ababa of a cerebral haemorrhage, aged forty one. Around sixty five thousand people attended the state funeral and Emperor Haile Selassie proclaimed a national day of mourning. His line is worth reading because it keeps finding a new way to compete after each thing that should have ended it.

The moments

Abebe Bikila's timeline.

The 1950s

~1952

The Imperial Guard

Milestone, and it changed his direction. A soldier first. The running came out of the job, not instead of it.

The 1960s

16 Mar 1960

He married Yewebdar

Everyday. Six months before Rome.

10 Sep 1960

Rome, with no shoes

Milestone, and it changed everything. The shoes he was given did not fit, so he took them off and won the Olympic marathon.

Sep 1964

An appendectomy

Setback, and it changed everything. Abdominal surgery, forty days before a marathon. The medical advice is not hard to guess.

20 Sep 1964

Withdraw from Tokyo, or run

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: run it anyway, taken, or withdraw and recover. He won it in two hours twelve minutes and eleven point two seconds, the first athlete to defend an Olympic marathon title.

21 Oct 1964

Tokyo, and a second title

Milestone, and it changed everything. The first man ever to win two Olympic marathons, six weeks after being cut open.

Jul 1967

A hamstring in Zarautz

Setback, and it changed his direction. The body starting to give notice.

22 Mar 1969

The car accident

Setback, and it changed everything. Thirty six years old, and the fastest marathon runner alive could not walk.

The 1970s

~1970

He competed again

Milestone, and it changed everything. A new sport, from a wheelchair, less than a year after the accident.

The line ends 25 Oct 1973, in Addis Ababa. What it set moving did not: East African distance running became the thing it is now, and it started with a soldier who was a late call up and had nothing on his feet.

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Abebe Bikila: frequently asked questions

What people ask about his line.

What was Abebe Bikila's character arc?

A soldier in the Imperial Guard who won the Olympic marathon barefoot in 1960, defended it in 1964 forty days after an appendectomy, was left paraplegic by a car accident in 1969, and competed at a wheelchair games the following year.

Why did Abebe Bikila run barefoot?

The shoes he had been given caused blisters, so at the Rome Olympics on 10 September 1960 he ran the marathon without them. He won in two hours fifteen minutes and sixteen point two seconds.

How did Abebe Bikila win two Olympic marathons?

He won Rome in 1960 barefoot, and Tokyo on 21 October 1964 in two hours twelve minutes and eleven point two seconds, forty days after an appendectomy. He was the first athlete ever to successfully defend an Olympic marathon title.

What were the turning points in Abebe Bikila's life?

Joining the Imperial Guard around 1952. Winning Rome barefoot in 1960. Running Tokyo forty days after surgery in 1964. The car accident of 22 March 1969, and competing at the Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Games in 1970.

What was Abebe Bikila's biggest setback?

The car accident on 22 March 1969, which left him paraplegic. He was transferred to Stoke Mandeville Hospital a week later. In 1970 he competed in archery and table tennis at the wheelchair games held there.

How did Abebe Bikila die?

Of a cerebral haemorrhage, in Addis Ababa on 25 October 1973, aged forty one. Around sixty five thousand people attended his state funeral, and Emperor Haile Selassie proclaimed a national day of mourning.

Where was Abebe Bikila from?

He was born on 7 August 1932 in Jato, in Shewa, in what was then the Ethiopian Empire, and moved to Addis Ababa, where around 1952 he joined the 5th Infantry Regiment of the Imperial Guard. He died in Addis Ababa in 1973.

Where does this timeline of Abebe Bikila's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Abebe Bikila isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to him.

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Sources

Abebe Bikila, English Wikipedia biography.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Abebe Bikila.
Official Olympic results, Rome 1960 and Tokyo 1964 marathons.