“John Stephen Akhwari is an Olympic legend. Representing his country, Tanzania, he was a favorite to win the marathon at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Well-rested. Ready. His expectations were high. The Olympic marathon began in the afternoon of October 20, 1968. John Stephen Akhwari immediately moved to the front of the pack. Four hours later, only a few thousand spectators remained in Olympic Stadium. The winner of the race, an Ethiopian, had crossed the finish line more than an hour before, and the three medalists had already received their prizes in the last medal ceremony of the games. As the lingering spectators prepared to leave, sounds of police sirens drew their attention to the stadium entrance. The gate opened, and the crowd began to cheer. John Stephen Akhwari was finishing the race.
Earlier in the race he had fallen, slicing open his knee and dislocating the joint. Though officials urged him to quit and seek treatment, he refused. Bloodied and bandaged, he continued on. Shaking and grimacing, he hobbled around the stadium track and finished the race. In that marathon, 17 of the 74 competitors did not complete the 26-mile race. Akhwari was not one of them. When asked why he continued in spite of his injury, knowing he had no hope of winning, the runner replied, “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race; they sent me 5,000 miles to finish it.” (Christian to the Core, 2023, p. 105)