Abebe Bikila, 1932-1973

LC control no.	n 85190428
Descriptive conventions	rda
Personal name heading	Abebe Bikila, 1932-1973 *Browse this term in* LC Authorities or the LC Catalog
Variant(s)	Bikila, Abebe, 1932-1973
Associated country	Ethiopia
Birth date	1932
Death date	1973-10-25
Place of birth	Jato (Ethiopia)
Place of death	Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)
Affiliation	Olympic Games (16th : 1956 : Melbourne, Vic.) Olympic Games (17th : 1960 : Rome, Italy) Olympic Games (18th : 1964 : Tokyo, Japan) Boston Marathon
Profession or occupation	Track and field athletes
Found in	Yamada, K. Abebe o oboetemasu ka, 1984: p. 70, etc. (Abebe Bikira [in Japanese]; b. 8/7/32; d. 10/25/73; Ethiopian marathon runner; 1960, 64 Olympic champion) World almanac, 1981: p. 802 (Abebe Bikila) Dictionary of African Biography, accessed April 24, 2015, via Oxford African American Studies Center database: (Abebe, Bikila; track and field athlete; born 1932 near Jato, Ethiopia; completed his studies at age twelve at the local traditional school; made his way on foot to the capital to join the Imperial Bodyguard; while guarding the departure of the Ethiopian delegation to the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, he decided to begin competing as a runner; won Ethiopia's national championship in the marathon and made it to the next Olympic Games in Rome where he won in a record time of 2:15:16.2; the first black African to win an Olympic gold medal; between 1961 and 1963 he won all the marathon races he entered except for the Boston Marathon (1963); won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo (1964) becoming the first athlete ever to win two Olympic marathons; the International Athletic Committee listed him among the top ten athletes of the millennium; the central stadium in Addis Ababa is named after him; the international sport community commemorated his legacy by establishing the annual Abebe Bikila Award; died 25 October 1973 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)