5 greatest marathon runners of all time

#2 Abebe Bikila (Ethiopia)

A double-Olympic marathon champion, he is most famous for winning his first Olympic gold medal while running barefoot and even setting a new course world record on the way. Subsequently, he notched up another record when he became the first person in history to defend his Olympic marathon title in the 1964 Summer Olympics, again setting a new world record.

Abebe's victory at the 1964 Olympics is featured in the 1965 documentary film Tokyo Olympiad. Such is his legacy, that a stadium in Addis Ababa is named in his honor.