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BECOMING A RUNNERI was born in Jato, Shewa, a remote place in the mountains of eastern Africa. It’s now called Ethiopia. It’s a long way from Europe, so you may be surprised to learn that Italy invaded my country shortly after I was born.&nbsp;<div><img src="https://cdn.builder.io/api/v1/image/assets%2Fb3b13b7f131f44b8b9040dab74852379%2Fcb09a2b66fd84613ad63d395d1fab506" alt="" style="width: 401.872px; height: 258px;"></div>We had to leave our home and my parents split up.&nbsp; We often went hungry, but hunger did not keep me still. In fact, I ran around for hours and played a form of field hockey.&nbsp;When I was 20, I joined the Imperial Guard, an elite military group. I trained every day, running through the capital, Addis Ababa. I was spotted by a Swedish coach, Onni Niskanen, who was hired by our regiment.&nbsp;Running faster and further made me mentally and physically strong, and I began to win a lot of races.&nbsp; My coach encouraged me. ‘Build your courage and ask more from yourself’, he would say. I always stepped up. I was forever thankful for Onni’s guidance and advice.&nbsp;<div>CONQUERING ROME</div>My coach wanted me to run for Ethiopia at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. What an honour! But it was strange too. I was going to Italy. The country that had fought my people would now cheer my arrival as an athlete.&nbsp;My coach ordered running shoes for me to compete, but as I ran around the city, my feet bled from blisters.I was a barefoot runner.&nbsp;<div><img src="https://cdn.builder.io/api/v1/image/assets%2Fb3b13b7f131f44b8b9040dab74852379%2Fc4f21bad1d6f4de08722726f783c68dc" alt="" style="width: 402.157px; height: 268px;"></div>So, I decided to be me and run barefoot in the Olympics.No one thought a barefoot runner from Ethiopia would pose a threat to any of the famous runners. I was at the back of the pack, but, one by one, I passed each runner, and as we came into the stadium, I realised I was in the lead. I was the first Ethiopian and the first black African to win an Olympic Marathon. The courage to be myself in this race and run barefoot had paid off. I gave thanks to God.I won races around the world. As the next Olympics came closer, I knew I was in peak form. But, just 40 days before the event, disaster struck.I was rushed into surgery with acute . I was so angry with my body. How could it let me down when I had trained so hard?&nbsp;But I wasn’t going to quit the Games.&nbsp;I had run hard all my life, so I dug deep. And just like four years earlier in Rome, I took gold, breaking the world and Olympic records.&nbsp;<div>A DIFFERENT TRACK</div>In 1969, a car accident left me in a wheelchair. Was I beaten? I could hear a voice from a long time ago in my head. It was my coach, Onni Niskanen. ‘Reach out and fight’, he said, ‘you can adapt and still win.’ It took courage, but isn’t that what life is about?In 1970, I began training for wheelchair archery competitions, and the following April, I took part in a cross-country dog sled race and managed to beat 16 others. I wanted to prove to myself that I had the courage to achieve and be the best I could be. In 1972, I was invited to the Summer Olympics in Munich as a special guest, where I received a standing ovation during the opening ceremony.&nbsp;<div><img src="https://cdn.builder.io/api/v1/image/assets%2Fb3b13b7f131f44b8b9040dab74852379%2F5c430eb30be24c2cbba2fa10ab2549fa" alt="" style="width: 293px; height: 445.294px;"></div>From being a child of the street to joining the Military Guard and winning Olympic gold, I ran my way into the world record books. Run your own race, adapt to win and take courage to be the best you can be.GLOSSARYRegiment – a military unit that is usually made of several large groups of soldiers.Appendicitis – a part of the body called the appendix becomes inflamed and painful. It can be very serious.Archery – the sport or practice of shooting with a bow and arrow.LEGACY AND RECOGNITION<ul><li>Abebe Bikila was a strong and brave record-breaking athlete who competed in 16 marathons during his lifetime, winning 12 of them. East African long-distance runners began to believe in themselves because of him, and they have been winning most of these races ever since.&nbsp;</li><li>Abebe Bikila was given a state funeral, which was attended by around 65,000 people, including the Emperor of Ethiopia.</li><li>In 1978, the Abebe Bikila Award was created by the New York Road Runners. It is awarded every year to honour people who have made a big impact to long-distance running.&nbsp;</li><li>He is a national hero in Ethiopia, where the national stadium is named in his honour.</li></ul>IMAGE CAPTIONS AND CREDITSA rural scene from Ethiopia, (image does not show Bikila or his family), A. Davey from Where I Live Now: Pacific Northwest, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsBikila running in the 1960 Olympics, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsAbebe Bikila in Wheelchair Archery (1970), Getty Images

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