Abebe Bikila was an Ethiopian athlete who won the Rome Olympic games marathon on 10 September 1960 running without athletic shoes. Abebe was a last minute addition to the marathon team and the coutries sponsor, Adidas, did not have ample time to get running shoes for him to run in. Adidas just had two pairs of shoes left, of which none fitted him. He made the decision he would then do the the race without shoes. For the following Olympic games in Tokyo, Japan in 1964, he again got the gold medal in the marathon, but achieved it this time around using running footwear and ran quicker. He passed on in 1973 at the age of 41 from complications following a car accident. He is recognized and admired in Ethiopia which has a arena bearing his name.
Abebe Bikila has a unique place in the historical past of marathon running, particularly with those who endorse and encourage barefoot running because they hold him up as evidence that a race may be run barefoot. Within that community Abebe Bikila is an inspiration with an nearly god like standing. There was a novelty a little while back for removing running shoes and running without athletic shoes. This fad was motivated by way of a lots of web sites, forums, books and also social media commentary as something which was worthwhile and better for runners. A lot of unsubstantiated promises was created for barefoot running, probably none of which stood up to subsequent critique. This gimmick went on for a few years, most likely reaching its peak around 2013-14 with possibly around 25 % of athletes trying it or having a go at it in some form. The fad quickly fell away when the majority of athletes that tried it got an injury or realized that this didn't fulfill all of the claims that got stated for it. This has now ended up relegated to the history books, with only a few serious barefoot running enthusiasts still running barefoot.
There is a lot of science completed on barefoot running that those who like to support and propose without running shoes running held these studies up as proof that barefoot running was better for you. Nevertheless, the research by no means actually indicated that at all and was commonly misquoted. All the science showed has been that without shoes running was different to running using running footwear which was all.