I just finished reading the book "Bikila: Ethiopia's Barefoot Olympian" by Tim Judah (2008, Reportage Press). I thought with the word "barefoot" in the title, the book might be able to shed some light about that aspect of Bikila's running. Surprisingly, there's very little in the book that focuses on this topic, but I'll summarize here the key parts that do.
First, the author's biography is very well-researched, based on dozens of interviews of Bikila's friends, family, rivals, and other contemporaries. The writing is a little flat at times and could have used a stronger editor's hand, but for me these negatives were far outweighed by the information in the book.
The second place finisher (Rhadi Ben Abdesselem) in the 1960 Rome Olympics marathon had a chance to interact briefly with Bikila informally before the race. Rhadi noted that Bikila's soles were "thick and as black as coal" and that the "hard skin was very sensitive".
In 1961, Bikila competed in a marathon in Osaka, Japan, and was approached before the race by the founder (Kihachiro Onitsuka) of what became Tiger and later Asics Shoes. Onitsuka praised Bikila but strongly urged him to wear shoes. Bikila resisted fiercely, insisting he didn't need shoes. But Bikila's Swedish coach convinced Bikila to wear the Tiger shoes. Bikila's winning time wasn't very fast (it was hot and humid, too), and Bikila acknowledged after the race to Onitsuka that the shoes had helped him with grip and traction.
From the text and some of the photographs, it seems that Bikila from then on raced and perhaps usually trained in shoes. Bikila raced in many marathons during the three years before the 1964 Tokyo Olympic games, but wasn't consistently dominant, as he failed to win many of them. Of course, he did win in Tokyo, but one would be hard pressed to make a claim that shoes improved his career; actually the opposite may be a more accurate interpretation. (As a side note, he ran in Pumas in Tokyo, rightly disappointing Onitsuka, and the evidence suggests that Bikila was paid by Puma to run in Pumas [so much for amateurism even in the early 1960s!].)
In fact, based on the spotty information Judah reports, it seems that Bikila's mileage and training intensity were probably greater before 1960 (while barefoot) and decreased some after 1961 (when he started wearing shoes), and then really declined after 1964. In 1967, Bikila suffered several injuries (such as knee and hamstring problems), but these seem to have followed, not caused, his reduced level of training. And then Bikila dropped out of the 1968 Mexico City Olympic marathon suffering what sounds to have been a long-standing stress fracture of the fibula. The book does not mention Bikila suffering from any injury prior to his wearing running shoes.
Another interesting thing to note is that Bikila's footstrike might have changed after he started wearing shoes. The video of his barefoot 1960 Rome victory obviously shows forefoot striking. But this picture (http://terryrunningonempty.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html) shows what almost has to be a heel strike as Bikila breaks the tape in Tokyo in 1964 (in his Pumas) and the book includes a photo of him in the 1968 Mexico City marathon in what has to be a heel strike in Addidas shoes that resemble very cheap off-brand running shoes of the present. I know still photos can be deceiving about foot strikes, but both of these pictures show the heel essentially touching the ground, with the toes angled up several inches above the ground. I don't think it'd be humanly possible to forefoot strike from such positions.
The book also mentioned something else very interesting. When I've talked with Ethiopians and Kenyans and told them many of my boyhood heroes were their countrymen (such as Bikila, Yifter, Rono, and others), without exception they have shown disinterested, even cold, reactions. In some cases, this could be due to ethnic discrimination (as many of the leading Kenyan runners come from a particular, relatively small tribe). But for those Ethiopians from the Imperial era (Haile Selassie), these reactions may be due to the low status given to running there and then (running is what servants and poor people did because they didn't have horses [or for the very rich, motorized vehicles]). Judah notes that many higher status Ethiopians are uncomfortable with the fact that some of the most famous Ethiopians to westerners are these poor, uncultured peasants who run fast.
All of this adds up to fairly limited information about a single case study, although a very prominent one at that. Nonetheless, the implication is that shoes weren't necessarily positive (or even neutral) for Bikila.
First, the author's biography is very well-researched, based on dozens of interviews of Bikila's friends, family, rivals, and other contemporaries. The writing is a little flat at times and could have used a stronger editor's hand, but for me these negatives were far outweighed by the information in the book.
The second place finisher (Rhadi Ben Abdesselem) in the 1960 Rome Olympics marathon had a chance to interact briefly with Bikila informally before the race. Rhadi noted that Bikila's soles were "thick and as black as coal" and that the "hard skin was very sensitive".
In 1961, Bikila competed in a marathon in Osaka, Japan, and was approached before the race by the founder (Kihachiro Onitsuka) of what became Tiger and later Asics Shoes. Onitsuka praised Bikila but strongly urged him to wear shoes. Bikila resisted fiercely, insisting he didn't need shoes. But Bikila's Swedish coach convinced Bikila to wear the Tiger shoes. Bikila's winning time wasn't very fast (it was hot and humid, too), and Bikila acknowledged after the race to Onitsuka that the shoes had helped him with grip and traction.
From the text and some of the photographs, it seems that Bikila from then on raced and perhaps usually trained in shoes. Bikila raced in many marathons during the three years before the 1964 Tokyo Olympic games, but wasn't consistently dominant, as he failed to win many of them. Of course, he did win in Tokyo, but one would be hard pressed to make a claim that shoes improved his career; actually the opposite may be a more accurate interpretation. (As a side note, he ran in Pumas in Tokyo, rightly disappointing Onitsuka, and the evidence suggests that Bikila was paid by Puma to run in Pumas [so much for amateurism even in the early 1960s!].)
In fact, based on the spotty information Judah reports, it seems that Bikila's mileage and training intensity were probably greater before 1960 (while barefoot) and decreased some after 1961 (when he started wearing shoes), and then really declined after 1964. In 1967, Bikila suffered several injuries (such as knee and hamstring problems), but these seem to have followed, not caused, his reduced level of training. And then Bikila dropped out of the 1968 Mexico City Olympic marathon suffering what sounds to have been a long-standing stress fracture of the fibula. The book does not mention Bikila suffering from any injury prior to his wearing running shoes.
Another interesting thing to note is that Bikila's footstrike might have changed after he started wearing shoes. The video of his barefoot 1960 Rome victory obviously shows forefoot striking. But this picture (http://terryrunningonempty.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html) shows what almost has to be a heel strike as Bikila breaks the tape in Tokyo in 1964 (in his Pumas) and the book includes a photo of him in the 1968 Mexico City marathon in what has to be a heel strike in Addidas shoes that resemble very cheap off-brand running shoes of the present. I know still photos can be deceiving about foot strikes, but both of these pictures show the heel essentially touching the ground, with the toes angled up several inches above the ground. I don't think it'd be humanly possible to forefoot strike from such positions.
The book also mentioned something else very interesting. When I've talked with Ethiopians and Kenyans and told them many of my boyhood heroes were their countrymen (such as Bikila, Yifter, Rono, and others), without exception they have shown disinterested, even cold, reactions. In some cases, this could be due to ethnic discrimination (as many of the leading Kenyan runners come from a particular, relatively small tribe). But for those Ethiopians from the Imperial era (Haile Selassie), these reactions may be due to the low status given to running there and then (running is what servants and poor people did because they didn't have horses [or for the very rich, motorized vehicles]). Judah notes that many higher status Ethiopians are uncomfortable with the fact that some of the most famous Ethiopians to westerners are these poor, uncultured peasants who run fast.
All of this adds up to fairly limited information about a single case study, although a very prominent one at that. Nonetheless, the implication is that shoes weren't necessarily positive (or even neutral) for Bikila.
