The family of Olympic marathon barefooter, Abebe Bikila, is suing Vibram, the maker of a popular line of minimalist running shoes, saying it used his name without permission.
Bikila, who died in 1973, was a last-minute entrant for the Ethiopian team in the 1960 Olympics in Rome and didn’t like the fit of the shoes he’d been provided. Running barefoot, which is how he trained, over the cobbled streets, he shattered the existing Olympic record, finishing in just over two hours, 15 minutes.
Vibram named some models of its Five Fingers foot-glove style running shoes after him, and even trademarked the name “Bikila” in 2010 as barefoot or nearly barefoot running became more popular in the United States.
But in a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in Tacoma, Bikila’s son, Teferi Bikila, of Tigard, Oregon, said the company didn’t have permission to do so.
The family is seeking at least $15 million in damages, said their attorney, Alex Trauman.
Bikila also went on to win the 1964 Olympic marathon in Tokyo — just 40 days after having his appendix out. He wore shoes for that race.
In 1969, a car crash left him paralyzed, and he died of complications a few years later.
