Abebe Bikila was a runner from Ethiopia who got the gold medal at Rome Olympics marathon on 10 September 1960 racing barefoot. He became a eleventh hour inclusion to the squad and the teams sponsor, Adidas, didn't have ample time to organize running footwear for him to run in. They had only had two pairs of running shoes remaining, of which neither fitted him. Abebe made a decision he would then do the the race without footwear. At the subsequent Olympic games in Tokyo, Japan in 1964, he again got the gold medal in the marathon race, but achieved it on this occasion using running footwear and also ran quicker. Abebe passed on in 1973 at the age of 41 due to difficulties from a motor vehicle accident. Abebe Bikila is honored and adored in Ethiopia with a arena bearing his name.
Abebe Bikila carries a special place in the background of running, especially from those who advocate and promote barefoot running because they hold Abebe Bikila up as proof that the marathon could be run without footwear. Throughout that community Abebe Bikila is a hero with an almost god like status. There has been a novelty a while back for taking away running footwear and running barefoot. This was influenced by way of a large amount of internet sites, community forums, books as well as social media comments as something that was beneficial and superior for runners. Lots of unsubstantiated statements appeared for barefoot running, probably none of that stood up to subsequent critique. This gimmick survived a couple of years, probably peaking close to 2013-14 with probably about a quarter of athletes trying it or having a go at it in one way or another. The novelty rapidly disappeared following most athletes whom tried it got an injury or realized that this didn't fulfill all the claims that got made for it. It has today ended up relegated towards the history books, with only a handful of barefoot running devotees still running that way.
There was lots of science published on barefoot running that those who choose to support and endorse barefoot running held these studies up as proof that barefoot running was much better. Nevertheless, the science in no way actually indicated that at all and it was greatly misunderstood. All the science demonstrated was that barefoot running was not the same as running in running footwear and that was all it showed.
