How tall is Abebe Bikila?

Abebe Bikila's listed height was 177 cm (5'10"). He was taller than about 95% of men in Ethiopia.

Where 177 cm sits among men in Ethiopia

Taller than about 95% of men in Ethiopia born in 1932 (average 165.5 cm).

About Abebe Bikila

Abebe Bikila was an Ethiopian marathon runner and back-to-back Olympic marathon champion, born on 7 August 1932 in Shewa. He moved to Addis Ababa around 1952 and joined the 5th Infantry Regiment of the Ethiopian Imperial Guard, and served in the Kagnew Battalion during the Korean War. He rose to the rank of shambel, meaning captain. He died on 25 October 1973.

Bikila was the first Ethiopian Olympic gold medalist, winning at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome while running barefoot. At the 1964 Tokyo Olympics he won again, becoming the first athlete to successfully defend an Olympic marathon title, and in both victories he ran in world record time. He ran sixteen marathons in total, placing second in his first in Addis Ababa, winning twelve other races, and finishing fifth in the 1963 Boston Marathon. In July 1967 he suffered the first of several leg injuries that stopped him finishing his last two marathons.

Bikila stood at a listed 177 cm (5'10").

Frequently asked

How tall is Abebe Bikila in feet and inches? Abebe Bikila was 5'10" tall, which is 177 cm, 69.7 inches or 1.77 m.

Is Abebe Bikila tall for men in Ethiopia? At 177 cm he was taller than about 95% of men in Ethiopia born in 1932, whose average height is 165.5 cm.

Sources

Heights are as publicly listed, rounded to the nearest centimetre; listed heights for public figures are often self-reported. Biographical details adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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