The Runner Who Won With No Shoes

In 1960, the Olympic Games were held in Rome, and a runner arrived from Ethiopia whose name almost nobody knew. He was called Abebe Bikila.

There was a problem before the race even began. The shoes he had been given rubbed and hurt his feet. He tried several pairs. None of them felt right.

So Abebe made a decision. He had trained barefoot at home, on the high roads of Ethiopia. He would run barefoot here too.

The marathon began in the evening, as the light went gold. The runners went out through the old streets of Rome, past fountains and stone arches, and soldiers held torches along the road so the runners could see.

And a barefoot man from the mountains ran through the middle of it.

He did not fall behind. He stayed with the leaders. Then, near the end, he simply went faster — past the great dark shape of the Colosseum, under the torches, all the way home.

He won. He set a new world record. And when they asked him afterwards whether he was tired, he said he could have run another ten kilometres.

Four years later he won the Olympic marathon again — the first person ever to do that twice.

Somewhere in Ethiopia tonight, children are running on high roads in the cool air.

Goodnight, fast one.