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Abebe Bikila
The palace guard who ran barefoot through Rome and became the first Black African Olympic gold medalist.
The rise
Born in 1932 in the village of Jato, the son of a shepherd, Bikila moved to Addis Ababa as a teenager and was serving in Emperor Haile Selassie's Imperial Guard when a Swedish coach spotted his talent for distance running.
What they did
At the 1960 Rome Olympics, running barefoot after his shoes caused blisters, he won the marathon in world-record time to become the first Black African Olympic champion, then defended his title in Tokyo in 1964, this time in shoes, just 40 days after appendix surgery.
The full picture
A car accident in 1969 left him paralyzed from the waist down and ended his running career; he went on to compete in archery and table tennis at the Stoke Mandeville wheelchair games before dying at 41 of a brain hemorrhage linked to his injuries.
Why it matters
Bikila's barefoot victory shattered assumptions about African athletes on the world stage and helped open the door to the era of East African distance-running dominance that followed.
“I have accepted these victories as I accept this tragedy. I must embrace both circumstances as facts of life and find happiness.”
What citizens said
Afrobarometer Round 9 (2021–2023) — Ethiopia
% who say 'trust somewhat' or 'trust a lot' · Afrobarometer Dispatch No. 891