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Marathon runner John Stephen Akhwari only represented his country in one Olympic Games - the 1968 Mexico City Olympics , ranked last among the 57 runners who finished the race. Before and after that, he did not record any good results worth mentioning. This is mediocre in Africa, where long-distance running masters emerge in endlessly. But it is such a person at the bottom who has gained a louder reputation than many Olympic champions, and a wider and deeper influence. Now, nearly 40 years have passed, and people still cannot forget him. His name is engraved on Olympic Who's Who, became a member of the Beijing Olympics series "Songs of Heroes". In his hometown of Tanzania, a "John Stephen Ahwari Athletics Foundation" is operating at full capacity, believing that there are poor families and Provide financial support to new track and field talents with athletic potential. He was once hailed as "the most beautiful bottom player" by the French "L'Equipe".
Isn’t the purpose of the Olympics faster, higher and stronger? What did this bottom man do to deserve such a high honor?
It is said that the 1968 Mexico City Olympics was the first Summer Olympics held on a plateau. The special geographical and climatic conditions made the track and field competitions of that Olympic Games a great event, with many unprecedented good results. . In comparison, the results of the marathon were too mediocre. The champion, Ethiopian Mamo Wald’s time was 2 hours, 20 minutes, 26 seconds and 4 seconds, which was better than his compatriot and two-time Olympic gold medalist "Barefoot Immortal" Abebe Bi. Kira fell far short of the 2 hours, 12 minutes, 11 seconds and 2 set by Kira at the Tokyo Olympics 4 years ago. The runner-up Kenji Kimihara of Japan and the third runner-up Michael Ryan of New Zealand were even more mediocre at more than 2 hours and 23 minutes. In addition to taking a routine look at the award ceremony, reporters paid most attention to the "Barefoot Immortal" Bikila, who collapsed after running only 17 kilometers due to injury. They did not pay much attention to other runners, and the audience did not place too much bets on the marathon. Enthusiastically, when the award ceremony was over and other events in the venue had been competed, they left the venue in twos and threes and went home.
More than an hour later, the organizing committee began to notify the service stations along the marathon route to start evacuating, and received a piece of news that surprised everyone: a runner was still running!
It turns out that the runner who is still running is Ahwari. He fell due to a collision after running less than 19 kilometers, injured his knee and dislocated his shoulder. However, he did not quit, but continued to limp towards the finish line. Gradually, all the runners left him far behind; gradually, the cheering crowds gathered on both sides of the street dispersed, and the sky became darker and darker. Everyone felt that the marathon was over, except for Ahwa. Rimoto ran determinedly because he felt that his race was far from over.
Another half hour later, it was completely dark, and Ahvari was still continuing. Due to the severe pain, his jogging was slower than an ordinary person's walk. Blood was flowing from his knees and the corners of his mouth were twitching in pain.
At some point, a man appeared next to him, a reporter from "Delta Sky Illustrated". The reporter looked at him sympathetically and asked puzzledly why he still wanted to fight when he knew there was no chance of winning. Run as fast as you can?
Ahwari was obviously unprepared. He "ran" silently for a while, and then suddenly replied firmly: "My motherland sent me here from 7,000 miles away, not to I start the race, but it’s up to me to finish the race…”. The reporter who was deeply moved not only sent the article to his own magazine, but also immediately sent it back to the Olympic Press Center. Soon Ahwari's famous words echoed through the radio over Mexico City, the world's most populous city. , many citizens who had already returned home rushed to the roadside to cheer and cheer for this brave contestant. With the encouragement of the audience, Akhwari dragged his injured leg and walked into the specially designed venue for the starry sky. He turned on the lights at Azteca Stadium and almost raced to the finish line, yard by yard.
He was surrounded like a hero and received far more ceremonious treatment than a champion. Due to being too excited, people forgot to count his exact results. In the Olympic results book, only his ranking was: 57th among 75 people. The 18 players behind him all dropped out due to various reasons. .
Ahwari was born in Mbulu, British Tanganyika in 1938. He was already a 30-year-old veteran when he participated in the Mexico City Olympics. Although he had no outstanding achievements before, as the first athlete in Tanzania's history to participate in the Olympic Games, he lived up to the country's high expectations and became "the most beautiful bottom player." He retired soon after the Olympics and joined the Tanzania Olympic Committee. Now he focuses his energy on the "John Stephen Akhwari Athletics Foundation". He hopes to help more young athletes so that they can compete in the future Olympics. No more running behind others on the field.
Famous Quotes:
The strongest muscle is my heart
The strongest muscle is my heart.