Muhammad Ali: The Olympic Story

Before embarking on a career unrivalled in the sport of boxing, Muhammad Ali achieved greatness by becoming an Olympic champion. This connection to the historic level of competition found in the Olympics, has continued throughout his life, acting as an inspirational story for athletes of all generations, of all nationalities, and of all sports.

In 1960 the Olympics was to be held in Rome, Italy. At that time Muhammad Ali was known by his original name of Cassius Clay. At just 18 years old, Ali had just become a high school graduate and yet was already renowned for honed athletic skills, and his engaging, charismatic personality. Despite this, the world was yet to be introduced to the greatest boxer who ever lived – the 1960 Olympics served as that introduction.

Ali was a relative unknown at that time in world boxing, even though he had 100 recorded victories as an amateur boxer, as well as being the heavyweight National Amateur Athletic Union champion for two years running from 1950 to 1960, not to mention securing two Golden Gloves in those years. Without much fanfare, it was therefore left to Ali to provide his own promotion and do what he became famous for - talking and boxing to equally eloquent levels.

He initially fought several rounds, starting with Yvon Becaus from Belgium, with the referee having to stop the fight in the second round. After this he went up against the intimidating Russian, Gennadiy Shatkov, a dedicated boxer who won the gold in 1956 for the middleweight category. Needless to say, many may have thought that Muhammad Ali would not have won this fight, but he did, and progressed to the semi-finals where he fought Tony Madigan from Australia. After being awarded another unanimous decision, he finally had to fight Zbigniew Pietrsykowski from Poland. The fight went the distance, with Muhammad Ali coming out on top and almost knocking Pietrsykowski clean out just before the final bell. Thus, Muhammad Ali won the gold medal for the light heavyweight category and began the greatest boxing career the world has ever seen.

Muhammad Ali's contributions to the Olympics continued for decades afterwards. Wanting to acknowledge his place as an Olympic icon, he was given the honour of being the final torch carrier at the Olympics in Atlanta, USA, in 1996. While he has had to struggle against the onset of Parkinson's Disease, Ali continues to be an inspiration to all aspiring Olympic athletes around the world, not to mention African businesspeople and leaders such as Tunde Folawiyo (for more information visit the Tunde Folawiyo Facebook page).