Abebe Bikila Abebe Bikila Abebe Bikila (; August 7, 1932 – October 25, 1973) was an Ethiopian marathon runner. A double Olympic marathon champion, he won the first at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome while running barefoot, setting a world record. He is Africa's first world record breaking athlete in any sport and the first sub-Saharan African Olympic gold medallist. At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Abebe became the first athlete to successfully defend an Olympic marathon title, breaking his own world record in the process. He was a member of the Ethiopian Imperial Guard, an elite infantry division that
1992 Winter Olympics medal table Winter Olympic medal—became the first athlete from the Southern Hemisphere to win a medal at the Winter Olympics. Speed skater Ye Qiaobo of the People's Republic of China and alpine skier Marc Girardelli of Luxembourg also won their country's first ever Winter Olympic medals in Albertville. Croatia and Slovenia participated at their first Olympic Games as independent nations, though neither won a medal. Two athletes, both cross-country skiers for the Unified Team, tied for the most medals for an individual athlete with five each. Lyubov Yegorova won three gold and two silver medals, while Yelena Välbe won one gold and