My Dad was in the army and stationed in Rome in 1960. Since he worked at the embassy we were able to get some of the best seats during the olympics. Our seats were at the end of the marathon. I remember my parents being in the stands and since I was six years old I guess everyone let me in the front. I'll never forget watching as Bikila crossed the finish line. It was an exciting time as everyone cheered. Even though I was only six I will remember it as long as I live.

This is so amazing omg. He ran barefoot and knowing back then they didn’t have the knowledge of the sport as we do today and training, but still managed to finish it in 2 hours 15 min and 30 seconds… that’s literally Olympic marathon speed time in today’s time. Wow, imagine if he had ran it wearing the Nike Air Zoom AlphaFly shoes 😅

Abebe Bikila, the legendary marathon race winner, was a role model for future generations of Ethiopians to do extremely well in world's middle & long distance races. He will be remembered forever for his awesome display. ❤❤

Abebe Bikila was a real sportman. With no technologial shoes , capas orclothes made history. He is an unforgetable HERO.

Abebe Bekila won on barefoot what a legend I can't express my feelings when I remember him. He is the first gold medalist of Africa He creates a way to east Africa runners. Today's success is the result of his hard work.

As a young Ethiopian, I grew up reading a passage about Abebe Bikila from our text books. Coincidentally I live near the burial place of Abebe Bikila where his famous statue was erected and I always used to pass the statue on my way to and from school. Later in my age I read from a news paper article written by interviewing Abebe which is "When I turn around Circo Massimo passing the Colosseum I see our Axum Obelisk(looted by Italian forces during the war) erected in front of the FAO HQ (before it was the Italian East Africa, a HQ of Italian collonies administration building), I get very emotional and determined to finish the rest of the marathon. Abeb's memory lives in the heart of every Ethiopians if not the world. Ethiopia airlines named one of its Boeing 787 which flew to Rome in memories of Abebe Bikila.

That was amazing how he ran by himself on the cobblestone with the echo of his feet touching the cobbles. A great moment.

A big model and impressive to be Ethiopian . I am proud of to be Ethiopian . God bless Ethiopia

Man, you make me cry whenever I watch this. A true legend.

😢😢😢 the one with barefoot omg he is really hero...when I see him I'm still crying. he is Ethiopian 👑

I’m proud to be Moroccan. Abdessalam Radi, this great unknown, Moroccan soldier finished 2nd behind Bekele who only distanced him on the last 500 meters. Bekele’s coach personally admitted that his athlete’s victory was easy, Radi having participated a few days in a race of 10,000 meters. R.I.P champion

The best marathon runner of all time!Barefoot!Great Bikila!The legend!Olimpic hero!

Our Hero You Always In Our Heart!!

Astounding to think this great man ran 26 miles barefoot and never stumbled or cut his foot on a rock and won by 35 seconds.

la proeza de Abebe Bikila es algo irrepetible y difícil de hacerlo... El mejor maratonista de todos los tiempos...

All runner there get my out most respect. Of course Bikila was some very special.

I'm crying 😥watching this Abebe Bikila is our hero.

He broke the Olympic record back home and no one believed it.

Italy sent an army to conquer Ethiopia, but Ethiopia sent one Imperial bodyguard to conquer Rome.

Your country & we Ethiopians Are proud of you Abebe Bikila Reall Legend, the first black Athlete winner of Marathon 🇪🇹🇪🇹🇪🇹👑👑👑 Proud to be Ethiopian proud to be African too

Thanks this video. When I was child I read about this competiton, and I could imagine this race. Something like that's what I thought. Abebe was my childhood hero.

What a legend ! As an Ethiopian imigrant I am proud to give an essay assignment on "Bikila- The Bare foot Runner" to my 8 year old girl, at Chavy Chase Elementary here in Maryland.

Abeke Bikila, my hero!

This short barefooted step for a man, but a great leap for mankind. Mankind learned "nothing impossible" from this man. It is an outshining equivalent as "Moon Landing".

What a magnificent accomplishment!!!! So proub of this Ethiopian brother.....

I met Popov in Severodonetsk some year's back. Man's still got it 🏃.

When i was young, i'm joined with athletic club as marathon runner..abebe is my idol

"In Africa, it is the time when animals drink" 😂 Thanks for that important information

It’s fitting that the first country to defeat Italy in WWII was the winner in Rome.

I can’t even walk barefoot from my living room to my bedroom on a marble floor 😂😂

የኢትዮጵያን እና የአፍሪካን ባንዲራዎች ከፍ ከፍ በማድረጋችሁ አበበ ቢቂላ አመሰግናለሁ ,,,, ተነሣ ኢትዮጵያ ተነስ loads of love from South Africa

Abebe bikila, jeremy lin, bjorn borg, kisenosato, kasparov...i admire these athletes

BIKILA, YOU ARE A HARDCOR!!!👍😁

What a magnificent piece of history

The torchlit streets of Rome make it seem like it was from another time, not 60 years ago, it looked like something from an epic film starring Charlton Heston

Abebe was and is a true hero!

Abebe... a continental figure forever to be remembered 🤝

A wonderful piece of film, thanks for sharing it. Bekele LEGEND!

Finaly I saw him on the film. Heard about him in my childhood in 70s but never saw him. Legend. ✌

He is first African man bring gold medals first black African he so proud us

And Abeke Bikila won it barefoot! I can't imagine anyone else in the history of the event ever running marathons barefoot! Bikila won the race again in 1964, but he wore shoes. I think he was forced to by either the Olympic committee or the International Track and Field Committee. In 1963, he came close to being the first man to win both an Olympic marathon and the Boston marathon. He led Boston that year at the 20-mile point, but came "undone" at the infamous "Heartbreak Hill" some five-and-a-half miles from the finish line. I think he finished way back in the pack.

3:26 yes indeed, Europeans couldn't believe አበበ ቢቂላ's stop watch, no wonder he won 35 seconds ahead of the 2nd best! they ran late afternoon to evening, best conditions for Europeans but they were humiliated by a bare foot african, that's a legendary statement!

Abebe Bikila is the very best marathon in the world of Olympic games in Rome 1960

My hero abebe bikila rip😥

Abe my life time hero 💚💛❤️

Maravillosos recuerdos de las Olimpiadas y como no emocionarse ver al gran Abebe gran Maratonista de todos los tiempo Etiopía país de grandes Atletas

WELL, ROME YOU ARE A WITNESS TO OUR COURAGE!!

One could still see Abebe running with tense phyisical posture. His coach the Swidish man Major Niskanen (I used to see Niskanen near his residence when i was a boy..we shout Abebe's coach) had to shout a lot on Abebe during training back in Ethiopia to let him run with a relaxed posture. In Tokyo Abebe improved a lot with his running posture... looked very majestic and in a class of his own. His coach is astounded that Abebe is not nervy about racing. He is care free in the midest of heated race

I was really amazed when I saw this vid of him going o a race barefooted and cameback for another olympics the next games.. won gold both of them. On his third olympics, he wasn’t able to finished it sadly. I was disappointed because he cannot show the olympic spirit he have shown during his first olympics on his last olympics. “It is not about winning the race, it is about finishing it”

We have always been proud of you and will always be proud of you the Iron Man!!

Calling this "legendary" is an understatement.

Bellissimo filmato grandissima impresa da leggenda..... è veramente stupendo vedere filmati come questo a distanza di anni dal 1960 quando io non ero ancora nato

My heart abebe

Kudos to all athletes of those times !!

Bikini normally wore shoes at this time in training and racing. His shoes split a few days before the race and he was offered a pair of new ones by Puma (probably the best he had ever owned), but they didn't fit perfectly and Bikila feared he might get blisters (the kangaroo leather shoes of that time took a few weeks to mould to your feet). So he decided it was less risky to run barefoot, despite the rough footing in parts of the course. This is what makes an Olympic champion: exceptional physical talent combined with maturity of judgement and character at a young age.Twice an Olympic champion and a world's fastest ever both times, despite the heat and humidity of both Rome and Tokyo in summer, conditions never experienced in the Ethiopian highlands.

42 km without shoes, that's amazing! This is what the Olympics Games is all about.

The sound of feet slapping was a bad addition to the video.

Los únicos pies que suenan con el asfalto son los de Bikila, que proesa..

ኢትዮጵያዊ ማለት ፅናት አልሸነፍም ባይነት ጥንካሬን ከአባቶቻችን ነው ኢትዮጵያ ለዘላለም ትኑር

The Russian's plan to follow Zatopek's time met with an unexpected problem - the great Abebe Bikila.

El mejor corredor de maratón de todos los tiempos, incluso kipchoge.

아베베는 당시 에티오피아 황실 근위대 소속으로 6.25전쟁 때 참가한 군인출신이다.또한 1960년 로마올림픽 & 1964년 도쿄 올림픽 2연패 하였슴

A true Olympic legend. Sad what happened to him later in life.

Incredible

Bikila the best of Rome 1960

This is a really cool video

amazing raner abebe i like like like liki i love abebe bikila i love ethiopia !!!!!!

OMG Abebe My Hero

The first two finishers were barefooted. Incredible! I can't imagine running ANY distance barefooted! lol

Imagine if Abebe Bikila had the modern technologies, shoes , training ect... He could be better than Kipchoge !

Abebe bikila our hero 1st 💫🎩

Who was the runner who collapsed at the finish?

Abebe is our hero🇪🇹🇪🇹🇪🇹💪💪💪💪💪🇪🇹🇪🇹🇪🇹

Abebe Bakila, He is a great athlete

รักคุณที่สุด

Abebe Bikila... ... The world must know your story... ... A Legeng... ... A Hero... ... ... ...

eu fico enmocionado

I am proud by Abebe Bekila. I am Ethiopian.🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

We were here tnx the legend

Legend 🇪🇹🇪🇹🇪🇹

Ost legendary ever

አበበ ቤቄላ በባዶግር አሸንፎ መጣ ነፍስህን ይማረዉ😭🇪🇹💯

Proud to be Ethiopian!

裸足の王者アベベの、ローマオリンピックマラソン映像を初めて見て、感動しました。

Strangely not mentioned, but this was a new WR by Bikila

Dudes a legend....prob could overlap some ppl if he did an ultra marathon while everyone else did a marathon

Quale altra città può permettersi di far arrivare la maratona olimpica, sotto un arco trionfale vero? Spero di rivedere queste scene , nel 60 avevo 2 anni

Super

magnifiques documents !

Unbelievable

Great Ethiopia to defeat is our way of life

Please tell me they have an statue of Bikila somewhere in Ethiopia . There has to be one .

الله يرحمك عبد السلام الراضي اول مغربي وعربي يهدي المغرب مدالية فضية بي الماراطون كان قريب من الدهب اتمنى من الله ان يرحم عبد السلام الراضي ويكون من اهلا الجنة يارب

Abeke Bikila is Monster

I am Ethiopian !!!!!!

Impressionante e motivador isso. No Brasil também temos um Abebe Bikila fazendo historia, Conhecido como BK !

What's the name of the music?????????

thats what I call the 2nd Adwa.and he is born in my country Ethiopia

Entire marathon barefooted salute to Ethiopian Hero more precisely a hero of all athletes running world.

I believe 1960 was the last Olympic marathon not to finish inside a stadium.