It’s been a year since the bombings, and despite that, it still went strong this year. Meb Keflezighi, 38, has a range of achievements for running. He won the silver medal in the 2004 Olympics for the marathon, and won the New York Marathon on 2009. A few years later he won fourth place in the summer Olympics of 2012 and now he can add the Boston Marathon to his list of achievements, finishing at 2:08:37. To top it off, he is the first American since 1983 to win the Boston Marathon, making him a huge influence for runners across the country.
He told NBC, “The scene was different last year. As an athlete, we have dreams. Today, the dream and the reality meet.”
The last American winner of the Boston Marathon was Greg Mayer with the time of 2:09:00. He is a highly esteemed American distance runner who has won first place in the Detroit Marathon (1980), Chicago Marathon (1982), and of course the Boston Marathon in 1983.
Meb also said, “You can’t touch the heart,” Keflezighi said. “Every day you’ve got to work hard and make it happen.”
Meb was not able to run the Boston Marathon last year due to a calf injury, but was in the stands watching the race. He left five minutes before the bombings went off. That day, he cried for the innocent people who died. Today, he cried for joy.
Photo Courtesy of Brian Snyder/Reuters