1968 olympics marathon john stephen akhwari 1968

He got treated, and kept running despite the pain, and the cramps. While 17 in the man field did not complete this most grueling of the long-distance competitions, John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania, was determined to finish. Afterwards it was written, today we have seen a young African runner who symbolizes the finest in the human spirit, a performance that gives true dignity to sport, a performance that lifts sport out of the category of grown men playing a game, a performance that gives meaning to the word courage.

All honor to John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania. They sent me 5, miles to finish it. He had not trained at such an altitude back in his country.

1968 olympics marathon john stephen akhwari 1968

At the 19 kilometer point during the 42 km race, there was jockeying for position between some runners and he was hit. He fell badly wounding his knee and dislocating that joint plus his shoulder hit hard against the pavement. He however continued running, finishing last among the 57 competitors who completed the race 75 had started.

The winner of the marathon, Mamo Wolde of Ethiopia , finished in Akhwari finished in , [ 2 ] when there were only a few thousand people left in the stadium, and the sun had set. A television crew was sent out from the medal ceremony when word was received that there was one more runner about to finish. As he finally crossed the finish line a cheer came from the small crowd.

When interviewed later and asked why he continued running, he said, "My country did not send me 5, miles to start the race; they sent me 5, miles to finish the race. Akhwari competed for many years before and after the Olympics. In the early parts of the race, Akhwari cramped up due to the high altitude of the city. At the 19 kilometer point during the 42 kilometer race, he collided with another runner and fell, badly cutting and dislocating his knee.

He also hurt his shoulder when he hit the ground. However, despite the injuries, he still pressed on and finished the race as the last person of the 57 competitors who finished. Akhwari finished in , well over an hour behind the winner. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikidata item. Background [ edit ].

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