Abebe Bikila

The barefoot marathon win at Rome 1960 Abebe Bikila ran the first night marathon in Olympic history without shoes and won it, becoming Ethiopia's first Olympic gold medalist and the first Black African to win Olympic gold. Four years later he defended the title, this time wearing shoes. The footage of a barefoot runner pulling away through Rome at night is one of the most striking images the Games have produced, and a simple way into a lesson about what equipment does and does not matter.