Boston Strong- Marathon winner wears Martin Richard’s name close to his heart
Meb Keflezighi was the first runner across the finish line
BY SEAN DUNNE
Meb Keflezighi became the first American male to win the Boston Marathon since 1983, according to the Boston Marathon's Facebook page., exactly one year after bombings left three dead and 264 injured.
Keflezighi crossed the finish line with a time of 2:08:37, 11 seconds ahead of second place finisher Wilson Chebet of Kenya.
Originally from San Diego he looked over his shoulder several times approaching the final mile. After realizing he wouldn't be caught, he raised his sunglasses, and made the sign of the cross
Keflezighi ran the race wearing an official runner's bib with the names of the three people killed in last year's marathon as well as the name of a police officer from MIT who was allegedly killed by the bombing suspect several days later. The victims were 8-year-old Martin Richard, 29-year-old Krystle Campbell and 23-year-old Lu Lingzi. MIT Officer Sean Collier was shot three days after the marathon.
Keflezighi is a three-time Olympian who won the 2009 New York City Marathon and a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. His previous best finish at the Boston Marathon was third in 2006.
The last American to win the Boston Marathon was Greg Meyer, who recorded a time of 2:09:00 in 1983. Keflezighi said he hoped to have his picture taken with the victims' families after his win Monday, but they weren't immediately available.
But for most of the 36,000 runners, the race had nothing to do with competition. The 2013 race was marred by bombings near the end of the course that killed three people and wounded more than 260.
At the start Monday, as competitors stood shoulder to shoulder, the race announcer shouted to them, "Take back that finish line!"
On Monday Meb Keflezighi became the first American man to win the Boston Marathon since 1983, one year after the bombings which left three dead and 264 injured.
Keflezighi crossed the finish line with a time of 2:08:37, 11 seconds ahead of second place finisher Wilson Chebet of Kenya.
Keflezighi looked over his shoulder several times as he approached the final mile. After realizing he wouldn't be caught, Keflezighi raised his sunglasses and made the sign of the cross.
Keflezighi ran the race wearing an official runner's bib with the names of the three people killed in last year's marathon as well as the name of a police officer from MIT who was allegedly killed by one of the bombing suspects.
The bomb victims were 8-year-old Martin Richard, 29-year-old Krystle Campbell and 23-year-old Lu Lingzi. MIT Officer Sean Collier was shot three days after the marathon.
Keflezighi is a three-time Olympian who won the 2009 New York City Marathon and a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. His previous best finish at the Boston Marathon was third in 2006. The last American to win the Boston Marathon was Greg Meyer, who recorded a time of 2:09:00 in 1983.
Keflezighi said he hoped to have his picture taken with the victims' families after his win Monday, but they weren't immediately available. But for most of the 36,000 runners, the race had nothing to do with competition.
The 2013 race was marred by bombings near the end of the course that killed three people and wounded more than 260.
At the start Monday, as competitors stood shoulder to shoulder, the race announcer shouted to them, "Take back that finish line!"
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