9 ms·

Those men barefoot is a sobering image.

• nradov 6y ago
  Abebe Bikila won the marathon in the 1960 Olympics running barefoot. Shoes weren't much of an advantage until fairly recently when materials scientists figured out how to make foam that returned a significant amount of energy.
  • stevesimmons 6y ago
    A more recent barefoot example, though at shorter distances, is South African runner Zola Budd. She ran 3000m barefoot in the 1984 Olympics. That race was notable for Budd and American Mary Decker leading the pack, then colliding and Budd's spikes piercing Budd's foot. Decker crashed out and Budd finished 7th.
    • lazyasciiart 6y ago
      *Decker's spikes pierced Budd's ankle - then Decker fell onto the track rail and was out, Budd ran the whole race but was too shaken up (/slightly injured) to win it as she was expected to. Both of them were too fast to have much experience competing in a pack of runners. Budd was only 17 and Decker was older, but had been winning international competitions since she was 14, too young to even enter the Olympics.
• scns 6y ago
  I recommend the book "Born to run" quite illuminating.