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Abebe BikilaAbebe Bikila (August 7, 1932 - October 25, 1973) was a two time Olympic marathon champion from Ethiopia. A member of Emperor Haile Selassie's Imperial Guard, Abebe Bikila, born in Mout, Ethiopia, became a national hero after winning the Olympic gold medal in the marathon at the 1960 Summer Olympics. At the Games held in Rome, Bikila ran the entire length of the marathon barefoot, setting a world record of 2hr 15min 16.2 sec. During the marathon, Bikila passed the Obelisk of Axum, which was stolen in 1937 from Ethiopia by the Italian army after the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo Bikila was in a weakened condition. He had had his appendix removed six weeks before the race, which forced him to curtail his training for the marathon. Nevertheless, Bikila, this time wearing running shoes, repeated as Olympic marathon champion, again setting a world record (2hr 12min 11.2 sec). At the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City, Bikila was affected by the high altitude, injury, and age, and withdrew from the marathon race after 17 kilometers. In 1969, Bikila was involved in a car accident near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. He never regained his full health and died in Addis Ababa at the age of 41 from a disease he had suffered from for many months. The national stadium in Addis Ababa is named in his honor. Bikila, Adebe Bikila, Adebe Bikila, Adebe Bikila, Adebe
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