Did Abebe Bikala ran a marathon barefoot and get a gold medal?
The marathon is the making of legends and is a really an arduous mileage to complete, even for athletes that are trained. The marathon covers 42 kms and is very challenging to the body, especially the feet which is why all marathon athletes are likely to spend a great deal of effort on and give a great deal of thought to just what it is that they wear on their own feet. Marathoners do spend considerable time getting the ideal running shoes and lots of cash is involved in athletic shoes with it being a huge market. Back at the 1960 Rome Olympic Games, Abebe Bikala from Ethiopia had been a last minute inclusion in the team, so that after he showed up to get fitted with all the team equipment there was no athletic shoes left in the squads equipment which might fit him. Rather than wear the wrong size Bikala chose to compete in the marathon without footwear and then went on to earn the gold medal. This is actually the stuff that legends are created from.
Bikala's achievement in doing this is frequently praised as something tremendous and well deserving of legend status. Not too long ago there was a novelty with a substantial number of athletes recommending that athletic shoes will not be that vital and they are not all they are claimed to be. They were touting barefoot running a lot like nature intended as which is the way that we evolved. Historically humans had to run substantial distances to survive as animals would have to be hunted by running over long distances and this was completed without resorting to running footwear. The running shoes are only a relatively recent creation.
Those who endorse the barefoot approach to running point out the achievements of Abebe Bikala as more proof that runners usually do not have the need for running shoes for running and that barefoot is the most suitable. Abebe Bikala winning gold medal at the Rome Olympic games without running shoes unquestionably indicates that it is possible to do it. However, he later went on to earn the gold medal and break the world record in the marathon event at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic games. This time he was using proper running footwear. This indicates that he had the cabability to run faster when he was wearing running footwear. The achievements of Abebe Bikala were important but using them as proof that it is advisable to not use athletic shoes and run barefoot does not stack up to analysis.
Abebe Bikala was born August 7, 1932. Bikala's achievement in winning the Rome Olympic marathon was the first gold medal won by a runner from the African continent. On March 22, 1969, Bikala was paralysed after having a motor vehicle accident and he never walked again, passing away October 25, 1973 aged 41 from complications. You will find a arena in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia that was named after Bikala. There have been a variety of biographies and videos about him and documenting his running career and his impressive achievements against various odds. The majority of publications about the marathon as well as the Olympics feature tales about Bikala.