Finishing the race...that is what we are called to do! This is the motivating story of John Stephen Akhwari a Tanzanian Olympian who struggled to complete the 1968 Olympic marathon after he fell during the race cutting and dislocating his knee. While competing in the marathon in Mexico City, Akhwari cramped up due to the high altitude of the city. He had not trained at such an altitude back in his country. 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 dislocated that joint plus his shoulder hit hard against the pavement. As he pushed himself through the pain and 1 hour after the race had already been won, John Stephen Akhwari finished the race. 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 2:20:26. Akhwari finished in 3:25:27,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 5,000 miles to start the race; they sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race. The competition won him the title of “A King without crown. “Akhwari competed for ten years after the 1968 Olympics. He finished 5th in the marathon at the 1970 Commonwealth Games. Akhwari has lent his name to the John Stephen Akhwari Athletic Foundation, an organization that supports Tanzanian athletes training for the Olympic Games. He was invited to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney,Australia. He later appeared in Beijing as a goodwill ambassador in preparation for the 2008 Games.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 17:44:29 +0000
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