Keflezighi wins marathon on emotional day

BOSTON – The United States has a new champion in the Boston Marathon: Mebrahtom “Meb” Keflezighi, the first American to win Boston since the 1980s.Keflezighi, who will turn 39 on May 5, broke the tape in 2:08:37 on Monday. He won the first running of the marathon since two bombs exploded near the finish line last year, killing three people and wounding 264.?Thank you, Lord, this day,” Keflezighi said. “Congratulations, Boston. Boston Strong, America Strong, worldwide. A year ago, it was a disaster. (Today it is) a patriotic day.”The last American men?s champion was Greg Meyer in 1983, and the last U.S. women?s champion was Lisa Larsen-Weidenbach in 1985.Keflezighi, who emigrated with his family as a child from the East African nation of Eritrea, added another highlight to a career that includes a New York City Marathon win (2009) and Olympic Marathon silver medal (2004).He entered a field glittering with more recent marathon winners, including defending Boston champion Lelisa Desisa and defending Chicago champion Dennis Kimetto, both of whom had personal bests under 2:05. Yet Keflezighi made a statement early in the race.?I realized the danger at 5K,” recalled second-place finisher Wilson Chebet of Kenya. “(There was) nothing I was seeing but straight road. I realized, ?This was going to be tough.?”Keflezighi made it tougher, posting a blistering 1:04:21 at the halfway point with Josphat Boit, a Kenyan-born runner who is now a U.S. citizen.?I asked (Boit) what the halfway split was,” Keflezighi said of his rival, who finished 11th. “He didn?t tell me. We couldn?t come out to an agreement. Just try to get to the finish line, as many of the 36,000 (runners) are doing.”Keflezighi outran Boit at the Newton hills.?I knew the course,” Keflezighi pointed out. “I?ve run it two times (before). I?m not sure if he knew it.”Keflezighi knows not only the marathon course, but also the history of marathons in general, going back to the days of Bill Rodgers, Alberto Salazar and Frank Shorter. He noted that he has been reading Rodgers? book, “Marathon Man.”?(I wanted to) pull it off like Bill Rodgers in Boston, Salazar in New York, Shorter in the Olympics,” he said. “Those were my examples. Try to be like that.”He was also impressed by the examples set by Bostonians during the recovery from the terror attacks last year.?When the Red Sox won and put (the trophy) on the finish line, I wanted to do that for the runners,” he said.He spoke about the Richard family of Dorchester. Eight-year-old Martin Richard died in the marathon bombings last year. Keflezighi referred to a message on a sign Richard was shown holding in a photo: “No More Hurting People. Peace.”?That says it all for me,” said Keflezighi, who also discussed meeting Richard?s father and brother, and raising $10,000 in charitable donations.Keflezighi knows the meaning of tragedy. He said that members of his own family were murdered on Thanksgiving in 2006, and that “every Thanksgiving, I think about them.”Of Martin Richard?s father, Bill, he said, “He is doing the right things with his foundation. (Martin Richard?s) legacy will live on for a long time.”Keflezighi did not run Boston last year, but he was a spectator. He was preparing for a 4 p.m. appointment with Universal Sports and heard both bombs from inside the Copley Plaza Hotel, just a block away.?I left my brother at the finish line,” he said. “People were running for my foundation. He was the last one to get in here. It was tough, really tough. We felt helpless. Our minds were wandering.”Keflezighi showed affection to the crowds, high-fiving people at a medical tent and pumping his arm to a military crew shouting “U-S-A!” atop Heartbreak Hill. He said he hoped everything turned out smoothly Monday.?Enjoy the moment,” he said. “I have so much pride to be an American.”