John Stephen Akhwari, a marathon runner, has only participated in the Olympic Games once on behalf of his motherland-1968 Mexico City Olympic Games, ranking first from the bottom among 57 runners who completed the race. Before and after this, he didn't get any good grades worth mentioning, which is not unusual in Africa where there are many long-distance runners. However, it is such a runner at the bottom, but he has gained a louder reputation and a wider and deeper influence than many Olympic champions. Now, nearly 40 years later, people still can't forget him. His name was engraved on the Who's Who of the Olympic Games, and he also became a part of the Beijing Olympic Games series "Song of Heroes". In his native Tanzania, a "John Stephen Avari Sports Foundation" is in full swing.

Isn't the purpose of the Olympic Games faster, higher and stronger? What did the runner at the bottom do to win such a high honor?

In other words, 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games is the first summer Olympic Games held on the plateau. The special geographical and climatic conditions made the track and field competitions of that Olympic Games splendid, and many unprecedented good results appeared. By contrast, the result of the marathon is too ordinary. Mamo Wald of Ethiopia, the champion, scored 2 hours, 20 minutes and 26.4 seconds, much worse than the 2 hours 12 minutes1.2 seconds set by his compatriot and two-time Olympic gold medalist Abibe Bikila at the Tokyo Olympics four years ago. Japanese Hara Kenji and New Zealand's Michael Ryan scored more than 2 hours and 23 minutes. In addition to the routine examination of the award ceremony, the reporters are most concerned about Bikila, the "barefoot fairy" who collapsed after running only 17 km due to injury. They didn't care too much about other runners, and the audience didn't bet too much on the marathon. When the award ceremony was over and all other activities in the venue were over, they were in twos and threes.

More than an hour later, the organizing Committee began to inform the service stations along the marathon to start evacuation. The result was a news that surprised everyone: a runner was still running!

It turns out that the runner who is still running is Avari. After running less than 19 km, he fell, injured his knee and dislocated his shoulder, but instead of quitting, he limped to the finish line. Gradually, all the players left him far behind; Gradually, the cheering crowds on both sides of the street have dispersed and the sky is getting darker and darker. Everyone thought the marathon was over, and only Avari ran steadily, because he felt that his race was far from over.

Half an hour later, it was completely dark, and Avari continued. Because of the severe pain, he jogs slower than ordinary people, his knees bleed and his mouth twitches painfully.

I don't know when a man appeared beside him. He was a reporter from Delta Sky Illustrated. The reporter looked at him sympathetically and asked inexplicably, why did he run away knowing that he had no chance of winning?

Obviously, Avari was unprepared. He ran silently for a long time, and then suddenly replied firmly, "My motherland sent me here from 7,000 miles away, not to let me start the race, but to let me finish it …". The deeply moved reporter not only sent the manuscript to his magazine, but also immediately sent it back to the Olympic News Center. Avari's famous words soon echoed over Mexico City, the most populous city in the world, and many citizens who had already gone home rushed to the roadside to cheer for this brave player. Encouraged by the audience, Avari dragged his legs into the Aztec Stadium. The stadium turned on the lights for him, and the sky was full of stars, almost a yard.

He was surrounded like a hero and received far more grand courtesy than the champion. Because of his excitement, people forgot to count his exact grades. Only he ranked 57th out of 75 in the Olympic score book, and the 18 player who came after him all retired for various reasons.

Avari was born in Mburu, Mburu, British Tanganyika on 1938. He was a 30-year-old veteran when he participated in the Mexican Olympic Games. Although there was no previous achievement, as the first athlete in Tanzania's history to participate in the Olympic Games, he did not live up to the country's high hopes and became the "most beautiful bottom". Shortly after the Olympic Games, he retired and joined the Tanzanian Olympic Committee. Now, he focuses on the "John Stephen Avari Sports Foundation", hoping to help more young athletes so that they will not run behind others in the future Olympic Games.

Famous saying:

The strongest muscle is my heart.

The strongest muscle is my heart.