My 3 Favourite Greatest Marathon runners of 1968.

Abebe Bikila
In the 1968 in Rome. Abebe Bikila, an Ethiopian track and field athlete became the first black African to win an Olympic medal. Later in 1964, he became the first man ever to win two Olympic marathons. Known for his grace and stamina, he was considered the most perfect example of a naturally talented distance runner. He was also known as the Ethiopian who had conquered Rome.

The group of runners assembled for the Marathon in 1960 was impressive, and Bikila was not expected to win. He was not even be selected to run but had come in as a replacement for his fellow country man who had be injured in training. He would probably not have been noticed at all were it not for the fact that he chose to wear no running shoes. Used to running barefoot in Ethiopia, Bikila would run the entire 26.2 miles in bare feet. He had tried to run a few practice miles with shoes, but found that they pinched his feet because no proper gear had been arranged for him.

As the race began, four runners moved to the front of the pack.At six miles, two more runners caught up but a Soviet Union runner who held the world record and was expected to win was still behind. By 16 miles, Bikila and another runner were in front. Previously, Bikila had decided that he would not take the lead until after the 12-mile mark, and now he was there. At 18 miles, he was still battling for the lead. Unlike everyone else, Bikila and his coach had assumed that he would be in the lead at the end of the race. In the last few miles, Bikila looked for a place where he could decisively overtake the lead.

A little more than a mile from the finish, Bikila saw a statue known as the Obelisk of Axum, which had originally come from Ethiopia, and which had been stolen by invading Italian troops during World War II. For Bikila, it was symbolic. As he passed the obelisk, he surged forward so strongly that the leader could no longer keep up. Dodging a motor scooter whose driver had mistakenly driven onto the course, he won by 25 seconds, with a finishing time of 2:15:16.2. With this time, he won the gold medal, beat the previous world record by eight tenths of a second, and beat the Olympic record for the marathon by almost 8 seconds. Newspapers the next day commented that it had taken an entire Italian army to conquer Ethiopia, but only one Ethiopian soldier to conquer Rome.

Six weeks before the Tokyo Olympics, in 1964, Bikila underwent surgery for appendicitis. Although he planned to go to Tokyo with the team, he was not expected to compete. Between the operation and the day of the marathon, he had not run at all. Nevertheless, he took his place at the start, this time wearing shoes. Bikila had decided that he would use the same strategy he used in the 1960 marathon: stay with the lead runners until the 12-mile mark, and then move to the front.

Although Bikila was very popular with fans, he was not expected to win because of his surgery. At the halfway point, however, he was in the lead by five seconds. As Charlie Lovett wrote in Olympic Marathon: A Centennial History of the Games' Most Storied Race, "For Bikila, no more strategy was necessary. He slowly increased his lead, running with total concentration and precision - the ultimate image of the perfect marathoner. There was no indication that either his surgery or the extreme humidity was having the slightest effect on his race. His body seemed to float down the streets. By the time he had run 22 miles, he was two and a half miles ahead of the nearest competitor. He entered the stadium alone, while 70,000 spectators cheered. He had set a new record of 2:12:11. Even at the end of the race, he seemed fresh and rested. Bikila performed a set of stretching exercises to prevent his muscles and joints from becoming stiff after the race. The crowd marveled at his ease and flexibility. He later said that he could have kept running for six more miles.

Richard Benyo wrote in The Masters of the Marathon, "His running is seemingly effortless; he is frail but incredibly strong. He is like a personification of everything the marathon runner should be. He is the most natural world-class runner anyone has ever seen." With this victory, Bikila became the first man ever to win an Olympic marathon twice.

Demisse (Mamo) Wolde
In the 1968 games in Mexico City, Bikila started out in the lead pack as usual, but had to drop out in the tenth mile. Despite his incredible ability, even Bikila could not run with a broken bone in his foot. It was Demisse (Mamo) Wolde, his fellow countryman who had picked up the mantle and won the gold, Later, Mamo Wolde said that if Bikila had not been injured, he would have won. Bikila would never compete again.

John Stephen Akhwari
Olympic history will never forget about this marathon runner who represented Tanzania in Mexico. During the race, he fell badly, cutting his knee and dislocating the joint. Rather than give up, he continued running, in fact walking most of the time. As John Akhwari entered at the far end of the stadium, pain hobbling his every step, his leg bloody and bandaged. Even though, he was the last to finish the race, an hour after the winners. Limping as he entered the stadium, with his leg bandaged, he found the last of his endurance to step up his pace and finish the race. As he crossed the finish line, the small crowd roared out its appreciation.

Mamo Walde of Ethiopia, finished in 2:20:26. Akhwari finished in 3:25:27, more than an hour after the winner. 17 of the 74 competitors in the marathon that day did not finish the race. John Stephen Akhwari, bloodied and injured, was not one of them. Afterward, a reporter asked the runner why he had not retired from the race, since he had no chance of winning. He seemed confused by the question. Finally, he answered:."My country did not send me to Mexico City to start the race. They sent me to finish."


Looking from a biblical spiritual perspective.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.When we run our race, no matter whether we finish with a flourish or merely limp across the line, it means gold, because we are following in the steps of Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. I know it gets scary sometimes, but don’t lose heart. Paul says in Romans, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” May the belief that Christ completed the race first and the promise that we have been called to run ours be the adrenaline for our souls that keeps us running and running and running. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

When we run our race, no matter whether we finish with a prize or merely limp across the line, it means gold, because we focus in following the steps of Jesus, the author and perfect or of our faith. I know it gets scary sometimes, but don’t lose heart. Paul says in Romans, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Let us all complete our race that is set before us.