How Bikila won an Olympic Marathon barefoot! | Strangest Moments

📲 Subscribe to @olympics: oly.ch/Subscribe
What do you do when your shoes wear out and you have an Olympic Games marathon to run? Take Abebe Bikila's advice and go barefoot.
Discover more surprising Olympic Moments in the "Strangest Moments" series: bit.do/StMENG
_____________________________________________________
🇨🇳 #Beijing2022 replays: oly.ch/B22Replays
🇯🇵 #Tokyo2020 replays: oly.ch/T20Replays
🗞️ News from the Olympic world: oly.ch/News

[@jamarbaileyiii2102]

To think Bikila would've immediately dropped down to last if there had been a lego on the course

[@paulfogartysongs]

greatest single comment on youtube.

[@gravityman7875]

I'm dead lol

[@uberness]

RunFor OurLives have you ever stepped on a lego

[@sudipachakravarty2332]

thank god Legos weren't there then

[@daqedo]

@RunFor OurLives have you ever heard of a joke?

[@teshalemezgebu8177]

"I want the world to know that my country Ethiopia always won with determination and heroism." Abebe Bikila RIP my Hero

[@guybartlett9587]

My hero too!

[@TheGammingPie]

He's amazing and he embodies the Olympic spirit!

[@specialmilks8592]

Good on him.... what a champion.

[@1518sharon]

Its all about not giving up🙂

[@1jordy11]

Legend

[@khalidmuntasir9230]

That he was dancing is the stupidesh thing i heard. he was warming down.

[@faarhsfyia7139]

I don't know him before this video, i'm not even ethiopian, but i am so proud of him idk 😂

[@김기규-o9w]

비킬린아베베 대단한선수입니다 올림픽 두번이나 제패하신선수 56년전에 있었던영상 감동적입니다 감사합니다

[@yenebetatube679]

@@김기규-o9w😂😂😂 can you translat an English or Amharic 🙏

[@bhskrbr4]

Rite No One Know Where Ethopia After He Was Won Whole Earth Know Ethopia

[@kiyakassa1726]

@@bhskrbr4 Except Italians 😉

[@ari-vw9kz]

IK

[@aspectoftheyeti1232]

Barefoot and scorching cement? The guy's a monster.

[@DakotaFart911]

"Hot Hot Hot."

[@JohnSmith-mo2sv]

maybe the hot cement made him run faster

[@alifkembaraalam2487]

@@JohnSmith-mo2sv hm logic

[@Mcthindi]

@@JohnSmith-mo2sv moron,

[@rndmbs]

@@Mcthindi what

[@Somnogenesis]

This weirdly lighthearted take on Abebe Bikila's achievement skips blithely over the fact that he grew up in an Ethiopia occupied by Mussolini's Italy after the Second Italo-Abyssinian War in 1935-9. As a young boy he had to flee with his family to a remote part of the country and spent a chunk of his childhood under Italian imperial rule. Only a couple of decades later, here he was in the capital of that former invader, running barefoot past the ruins of an older Roman empire. Those torches lighting the Appian Way during the marathon were held by Italian soldiers. Quite what extra frisson it all held for him can only be imagined, and one might guess there was a certain extra satisfaction for Haile Selassie - the Ethiopian emperor exiled during the war and occupation - when he honoured Abebe afterwards. Strange and sad irony, though, in Bikila being given a VW Beetle by his grateful nation to celebrate his Olympic victory - in 1969 he crashed it, leaving him paralysed and unable ever to walk again, let alone run, and ultimately leading to his early death at only 41. Even in a wheelchair, mind, he competed at the 1970 Stoke Mandeville Games, predecessor of the Paralympics. What an athlete he was.

[@texabara]

Somnogenesis 4 👍🏽

[@Somnogenesis]

You're welcome X-Zap, thank you.

[@Brookhouse3041]

Thank you for telling us his story.

[@talonwoody]

WOW

[@dfpguitar]

wow crazy and tragic story, thanks for sharing.

[@100flite]

Records were broken at every Olympics. Records are meant to be broken. But running bare footed were not even attempted by any other marathon runners after him not to mention winning the gold medal in doing so. Extremely rare talent.

[@Pradeep.Poonia]

3:51 I dont think he was dancing, he was warming down

[@campkira]

Need to do that....

[@waterproof4403]

😂♥️

[@melkamuamera3642]

yes indeed

[@tonyliu5427]

Someone should make a movie out of that..

[@sweetsamia6257]

I wholeheartedly agree.

[@natesilvers2166]

They did

[@vr1vairup529]

@@natesilvers2166 What is the movie name?

[@ohh28]

@@natesilvers2166 what’s it called

[@ari-vw9kz]

@@ohh28 i guess it’s called “The Athlete”

[@russellgilbert3453]

That, to me, is the most astonishing athletic achievement by any athlete in any sport.

[@waterproof4403]

💙❤🤍

[@valar_dohaeris7387]

Would have being even more impressive if he defended his title without wearing shoes too

[@waterproof4403]

@@valar_dohaeris7387 I'm sure he could've done that haha. But still This is the greatest thing ever in the olympics 😂💜

[@GemmaJoikhun]

"I want to world to know that my country Ethiopia has always won with determination and heroism" 💕 this phase hit me hard, anythings in this world can be achieved if you are determine

[@roastteaser6070]

Yes and this phrase has even more to it when you know that ethiopians have won battle against italians in 1889 pushing back colonial move. Then the italians were back in the mid 19 30's and occupied the country for 5 years. Even then they were occupying only the big cities because as soon as they go in the rural, they were facing ethiopian resistance. And here he reminds them that being underdogs and under equipped, determination can reverse probabilities and statistics.

[@awfan221]

@@roastteaser6070 Just a slight correction, we beat them in 1896 (battle of adwa). For WW2, we managed to hold the Italians off long enough (from colonizing us) for the Brits to come to our aid (largely thanks to emperor haile selassie).

[@healthylifestyle2429]

Anything in any world would be achieved with determination!

[@naidalenapimentel4256]

He is a legend, a true hero! 👣 😰😰 R.I.P ❤️❤️ Lots of love, from Brazil.

[@waterproof4403]

❤🤍💙

[@blackwatch_TV]

Excellent..cannot get enough of this channel

[@Olympics]

❤❤❤

[@Yasinery.]

Lucky human

[@georgegarcia406]

It is a great channel however it still irks me that they don't discuss the '68 Olympics or how they banned Smith, Carlos & Norman from competition sports for simply standing up for human rights.

[@Fn22781]

Commentary sounds like an Irish woman trying to do an American accent

[@Bizz55]

As an Irish person I can say that her accent is 100% Irish.

[@destressfrlyf843]

To think that he dominated in Italy, the same country that attempted to dominate Ethiopia a few decades earlier

[@rediettadesse2828]

😊😊

[@kesharisuthar3268]

ABEBE BIKILA is the finest marathon runner ever. I was a teenager, when he won in Rome Olympic. He repeated this feat in 1964 Tokyo Olympic too. He remains my alltime legendary hero. A big salute to him. 👌👌👌👍👍👍

[@waterproof4403]

💙❤🤍

[@kesharisuthar3268]

@@waterproof4403 Thanks. 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@sekinaabdo1399]

❤❤❤🇪🇹🇪🇹🇪🇹🇪🇹🇪🇹🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳

[@kesharisuthar3268]

@@sekinaabdo1399 Thanks and delighted to get a great response. 😊😊🙏🙏

[@larsvonrinpoche1229]

As a marathon runner myself I've really taken note of how running shoes have altered our running gait in a really negative way. It totally makes us do heel Strikes which is not efficient and not good for our bodies either. Running Barefoot makes you strike the top of your foot first rather than coming down on your heel. A lot of the Ethiopian runners have got a natural gate where they strike with the top of their foot first. This is why Minimalist Shoes have come out recently to keep people from striking with her heels

[@shahthecurious]

this is for real because I started running barefoot 4 months ago and my strides and feet are actually more comfortable ironically.

[@liibaan1234]

Barefoosh

[@benjiman2089]

To this day there is no one who could make push ups after running 42 km! Abebe Bikila is an amazing person with too much energy!

[@sanderslongdrive]

This is an amazing story and worthy of a ninety minute documentary. I find it hilarious that he ran barefoot simply because he found all shoes offered to him uncomfortable. I can't help but wonder if it was simply down to his secret sponsorship deal with Puma which persuaded him into shoes at the next Olympics?

[@22espec]

Puma hadn't hear about him until that day and running barefoot for an Ethiooian shepperd is not a big deal there.

[@prashantjakhar9396]

Mr. Bikila- what a man on the planet! He aptly taught the world that determination is key to success. Two back to back Olympic gold medals, respective of the fact he tried to run a marathon after the age of 24. Just incredible, salute to him.

[@etegegigi1321]

The people that made this video called this incredible history of a legend" strange thing" he cleared the way for every black athletes. It's a crime how underrated he is.🖤🖤Much love and respect💚💛❤

[@alayt12]

NOT strange but rather brave1 The video undermines the achievement of his excellency!!!

[@fahadfaraj1263]

It is well known that rome Olympic allowed Abebe Bikila to made a stamp of authority of Ethiopians on the marathon domination

[@htolas]

Bikila House was one of the competition 'houses' in the junior college I taught in. I'd often ask students assigned to that House if they knew who Bikila was. None I asked knew, and I had to point them to the library to find out (those were pre-internet days).

[@beteaberra]

Which country is Bikila House in? Because in Ethiopia everybody know him.

[@abdelmalkalsharif3434]

You are ethiopanne

[@CEROtian9279]

Nike, Adidas, Asics, Brooks, New Balance all dislike the video.

[@melkamuamera3642]

kkkkkkk ya man

[@Natnael22]

LoL 🤣🤣🤣

[@dawnval]

**Steps on a tiny rock**

[@12345marios]

Athlete: my feet!

[@stayontrack]

Would barely feel it with his callouses. This is a guy that did most of his training barefoot for years on dirt roads with tons of rocks

[@MrCmon113]

You step on small rocks all the time when running / hiking barefoot.

[@kiyakassa1726]

@@stayontrack lol for years can you hear what she said he wasn’t even the first pick and he didn’t train for years. that’s what’s impressive about him.

[@stayontrack]

@@kiyakassa1726 He did train for years. Guy lived an active lifestyle all throghout his childhood running around barefoot. Which built up the strength and calluses. If you don't count that as real training, he started to do real training to run fast and to compete in the olympic in 1956. This video is him running in the Rome olympics in 1960 and winning, so yes he had trained for years.

[@sirejackson9881]

His mental strength to tolerate pain is just incredible

[@flavio_spqr]

This is what legends are made of!

[@waterproof4403]

❤💙🤍

[@seulmoi]

Shoe: you better wear me, you need me. Abebe : No

[@sandeepshetty1589]

1964 Tokyo: well, i know i can win barefoot... let us see if i can win with shoes on

[@melkamuamera3642]

lol

[@roopad3765]

Africans r very talented, wow very inspiring

[@whoami5919]

RIP our Ethiopian African hero

[@waterproof4403]

🤍❤💙

[@lindavelasquez7849]

He just became my inspiration

[@saibliss7976]

God bless you and Ethiopia, such a humble athlete with brilliant talent 👌💕💖🙏

[@davidsontechie-menson4470]

"If you aren't going all the way, why go at all?" Joe Namath Amazing story of determination and heroism in the face of a grave impediment.

[@izzy6062]

That's crazy!! And definitely wouldn't occur these days😬🤘🏼but wow

[@gkprivate433]

growing as a kid I remember the olympics black and white coverage "live via satellite". I remember this guy winning two in a row, once barefoot. It just seemed incredible. If you look at his times, he was running like 2:15 marathons.

[@waterproof4403]

💙🤍❤

[@NamibianYoutubeChannel]

Abebe Bikila is indeed an inspiration of the generations of African athlets.

[@liibaan1234]

The cobblestones were indeed not a problem for his "feesh".

[@lorddrac_dontaskmetodance]

@mr arican Nope.

[@joyconboyz7801]

mr arican “Anything else you would like you criticise?” “Kid” smh dumbass

[@dad_bot_3924]

1:55 barefoosh

[@fionnhealy8583]

​@@dad_bot_3924 imagine your feesh on the ground in thash heash!

[@fionnhealy8583]

Grounge*

[@fes592]

All times Ethiopian, African hero Abebe Bikila. No one can run marathon like him. We Love you and remember you Abebe!

[@kidpeligro7878]

Ran barefoot. Won the Gold. Broke a record. First black African to win a Gold.......and still had a lot to spare to do a dance after finishing the race. How can you not love this guy. 🤣

[@waterproof4403]

❤😂🤍💙

[@deepus8192]

Take a bow, the bare foot legend 🙏

[@misgafitness101natural5]

♥️❣️🇪🇹🇪🇹🇪🇹🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽..,!! 😰R I P, my hero😰😢🙏🏽

[@Vanessa-lt9rc]

🤴 king legend BIKILA watching in nov/2020🇯🇵🇧🇷🇺🇸

[@waterproof4403]

🤍

[@xRestart]

dam they straight up roasted the roman empire in the first 20 seconds

[@mohakmalhotra]

India Qualified for the FIFA World Cup in 1950, but was not allowed to play barefoot, Imagine if India had won the FIFA world cup while being barefoot.

[@simran310i]

Stop living in the past.

[@mohakmalhotra]

@@simran310i You are no one to tell me whether to live in the past or not. It is something for which our govt. at that time were responsible for, and they must be ashamed of it.

[@mohakmalhotra]

@raveena3253 they didn't want to, they didn't have money, and also this story is false, I got fact checked

[@tuesdaypatience]

How in God’s name did he run that far on cement or cobblestone without permanent damage?

[@bulouvusonawalowalo1711]

Watching this now, 2021, never knew about Bikila, much respect to him.

[@paoloagostini2641]

Nessuno come lui si certo oggi hanno record migliori ma per me l'emblema del piu grande maratoneta e' lui Abebe Bikila !

[@picsandvidstv1348]

‘Off to Rome,and the shoes were left in Addis Ababa!’..🤣🤣🤣

[@cjoe1950]

Because no shoes were comfortable enough, he went barefoot. Badass level: Asian.

[@sweetsamia6257]

African.

[@benjiman2089]

Ethiopian(African)

[@emoshetah260]

He did the impossible for the upgrading of the media and the country 🇪🇹

[@kateeok9451]

I run cross country I am in 7th grade and I it’s only 100 girls run and I got 1st before and my least place was 9th and I wasn’t run for living I love it forever and track is starting trmoww so wish me luck

[@SnowmansApartment]

so she pronounces t sometimes as sh.. like: start-> starsh, heat-> heash and feet-> feesh is that a dialect from somewhere? never heard that before

[@evab.6240]

SnowmansApartment yeah. some people have been mentioning Irish, idk? :)

[@SnowmansApartment]

Eva Bergant thx. :) I‘ve just listened to some Irish.. It might be an Irish accent, but i can‘t say i‘m sure xD

[@1608svetlana]

It's an Irish accent for sure

[@naomi5061]

#17 👣 THE LEGEND 👣🇪🇹🇪🇹

[@wendem739]

Black African??? Is this the real Olympic channel? full of wrong information except Abebe Bikila's heroics.

[@rediettadesse2828]

Then who is the first 😯🤤

[@judithrozo765]

El no estaba bailando en la meta por la alegría, cuando se ha tenido un recorrido tan largo es necesario ayudar a relajar los músculos que han estado en constante tensión y por ello no puede detenerse de inmediato porque puede acarrear una lesión, suena algo graciosa la interpretación de la imagen pero no es ajustada a la realidad ni técnica.

[@deportesenvideo]

Bikila it is an inspiration for many athletes around the world

[@sweetsamia6257]

Not just athletes.

[@waterproof4403]

@@sweetsamia6257 everyone

[@waterproof4403]

🤍❤💙

[@chinasweet1486]

He truelly is my hero. Running bare foot and winning ...he is amazing. So proud to be an Ethiopian. Love and respect for him.

[@abdelmalkalsharif3434]

That's fantastic

[@offdatkush]

Black African really just say African

[@bab700]

Loonynez , some Africans are not black. But he was the first ever Black African

[@BW-fz5kf]

Camila Nelson He wasn't black either.

[@rediettadesse2828]

@@BW-fz5kf 😂then what is he lol

[@BW-fz5kf]

@@rediettadesse2828 hes me

[@kimayatandon3111]

He broke Emil’s record and I came here from Emil’s video

[@awfan221]

Growing up in Ethiopia, I saw some runners in the early morning (around 6 am) endurance running, and a few tended to do it without any shoes. It's not a big deal for us

[@beteaberra]

Not on cobblestone though bro for 42km and win and break the WR!

[@aron5741]

He was proud for all black people . Back in the day

[@_leaf_1594]

맨발로 달리는 것도 놀라운데 우승을 했다니 대단하다고 느껴지네요

[@jackthekraken7735]

This is incredible footage from the 60s!

[@tilethio]

"Every runner determined to finish a marathon deserves a medal, but there are only three medals", a journalist during Tokyo 1964. Finishing bare foot with new record is unheard of in Olympics history except Roma. The story of Abebe Bikila deserves a full documentary!

[@badape5802]

Imagine finish behind him

[@localasian]

I only run for sports meet and I usually run barefoot on a gravel running track ( we didn't have a proper running track or sports equipment in school back then). I never felt uncomfortable, because I only wear shoes when I go outdoors so my soles are rough not as thin as the westerns soles.

[@jayting2457]

He is a LEGEND!!!

[@amirBeQlue]

Son blood of Ethiopia as proud. And never ever colonized Ethiopian

[@rhianadiys226]

He looked so determined on his last 500 meters

[@mbockbrimandi52]

How did he achieve this???? The only reason I believe this story is because it is not coming from CNN or BBC, otherwise A Bikila was not a human.

[@primovid]

So many amazing records and facts here: 1st black African to win a gold medal His 1st Olympic appearance Last minute stand in who wasn't supposed to run Won in bare feet against runners with shoes Former body guard of the Ethiopian emperor First considered running in the Olympics only 4 years before he won the Gold Extra trivia: The previous Olympic record Bikila beat was by Zapotek, who made a last minute decision to run the marathon race in the 1952 Olympics after having won gold in both the 5K and 10K. It was his first ever marathon.

[@bkasrai9188]

Actually our foot was evolved to runand hunt barefoot but due to Shoes invention we lost the potential of our foot.

[@biswajitsaha5849]

How inspiring the story is!!!

[@cjoe1950]

Emperor of Ethiopia....dayummmm

[@rediettadesse2828]

What 😊

[@mochimoni1975]

not to mention that roads are really rough and could cause foot injuries

[@WonderWhatHappened]

I can't even walk to get my mail without shoes.

[@molalignmichael1269]

This is common in ethiopia but winning well trained athletes without shoes is insine

[@sidh00gh]

Salute Sir

[@judychen1038]

4:11 4:12 4:13 4:14

[@chaleur4112]

I thought running 5km barefoot for my schools cross country was tough, can’t image 42km and winning it!!

[@jackd1582]

The bottom of his feet would be a lot tougher

[@sosinaesayas7147]

No one can do what Abebe Bekila do what a legend

[@juanfuentesyanez9821]

Es triste que la historia de esfuerzo de un atleta sea representada de forma tan patética, es un documental o un capitulo de derbez

[@22espec]

Hay documentales y dos peliculas sobre el, solo tienes que investigar un poco. Bikila es un nombre que todo corredor de Maraton conoce bien, junto con el de Cliff Young

[@j.m9249]

for the second time Ethiopian make history in Italy by war and Olympic

[@feversteam]

Haftu Melaku I'd like to know more about the first one

[@j.m9249]

Daniel Leyva if you are italian never ever forget it

[@3Dgamespot]

Haftu Melaku Nobody cares

[@Javimtz32]

@@feversteam Italy was defeated by the Ethiopian Army in 1941

[@tewodrossamson790]

@@3Dgamespot apparently the world does

[@natiman5850]

4:04 indeed! WE ARE PROUD OF YOU!!!!!!

[@dhnsh1843]

Other Animals can run barefoot why humans cant ?

[@eriksvensson2098]

Dhanush Shetty humans can without any problem, actually it's much better due to many People wearing wrong size fit or get a strange stride due to shoes. Overall no shoes are better almost always unless your afraid of stepping on something sharp (knees back balance and much more is benefited from walking barefoot)

[@ichheissemarvin5613]

erik svensson yeah but you are faster with shoes. They help taking energy at the "impact" and then releasing it to the front.

[@anikyon]

Dhanush Shetty why don't you try it??? beside he is the first black African to win Olympic. He is a legend!!!!!!!

[@natesilvers2166]

@@ichheissemarvin5613 There is no impact barefoot.

[@stayontrack]

@@natesilvers2166 L.O.L

[@Biskwyy]

You spelled Badass wrong.

[@KawaiiMacaroon]

BAREFOOOSHH

[@teresaalmeida8432]

💯 hero! 😍

[@michaeltilahunsinshaw4625]

A Clear Ethiopian determination and resilience!

[@RyumaXtheXKing]

Thanks for keeping the correct aspect ratio !!

[@cal4685]

Why am I crying😂

[@sweetsamia6257]

Because...it happens.

[@yenebetatube679]

💚💛❤Serious? you may be emotional what he had done your country and my country bless you!!!

[@waterproof4403]

🤍

[@amhaneway8459]

I am ethiopian and pround

[@theexpierow8951]

What's the music here I NEED it

[@Mcthindi]

I found the video i needed to confirm myself!

[@jpsullivan4845]

Not entirely true, Bikila bought new shoes in Rome but they did not fit well. It was likely the day of the race or the day before when he decided to run barefoot.