IT WAS arguably the
greatest last place finish in Olympic Games history.
John Stephen Akhwari a Tanzania Marathon runner, was never going to
won a medal at Mexico City in 1968. But his journey to the finish line is
probably better remembered than that of the winner, Mamo Wolde of Ethiopia.
Less than halfway into the 42km race, Akhwari
tangled with another runner and took a horrific fall, smashing his knee and
shoulder on the pavement.
With his knee reportedly dislocated and
heavily bleeding, his race should have ended there. But instead it became one
of the great tales of sporting courage.
Bravely, he continued running.
As his rivals
crossed the line one by one, Akhwari remained out on the course, in pain, but
determined to see out the race.
He did just
that.
By the time he
completed the race - at about 7pm Mexico time - he was more than an hour behind
any of the other 57 competitors to have entered the Olympic stadium.
But the few
thousand people who stayed behind to see him complete the race gave him an
almighty cheer.
After the race,
when asked why he had continued running, Akhwari had a simple answer:
"My country did not send me 5000
miles just to start the race. They sent me 5000 miles to finish the race."
Eighteen other
competitors pulled out of the 1968 Olympic marathon during the event.
Akhwari's
inspirational effort earned him an invitation to the Sydney 2000 Games.
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