http://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/may/10/san-diegans-honor-hometown-hero-meb-keflezighi-ame/
San Diegans Honor Hometown Hero Meb Keflezighi As 'America's Finest Runner'
Saturday, May 10, 2014
By Claire Trageser
Saturday was declared "Meb Day" in San Diego to honor San Diego runner and
Boston Marathon winner Mebrahtom "Meb" Keflezighi.
Mayor Kevin Faulconer called Keflezighi, 39, "American's Finest Runner" and
gave him the key to "America's Finest City" during a ceremony on the track
at San Diego High School, where Keflezighi ran as a teenager.
"There are so many great ways to describe Meb, he's a great athlete, a
great father, an Olympian and a San Diegan," Faulconer said.
Last month Keflezighi became the first American to win the Boston Marathon
in 31 years, clocking a personal best of 2:08:37. He told the assembled
crowd in the bleachers by the San Diego High School track that he decided
to run this year's Boston Marathon after the bombings last year.
"It gives me a great honor to be an American and to be able to bring what
was a bomb site last year, to be able to bring it back to a positive note,"
he said. "I didn't know what winning the Boston Marathon would be bringing
me, but it's just been an amazing two-week experience."
Keflezighi and his family moved to San Diego as refugees from Eritrea when
he was 12 years old. He started running in gym class at Roosevelt Middle
School in San Diego. He said his gym teacher promised students an "A" and a
t-shirt if they could run a mile in under 6 minutes and 50 seconds. So
Keflezighi ran a mile in 5 minutes and 20 seconds.
He then ran track while at San Diego High School. At 19 years old, he won
the 1,600-meters and 3,200-meters at the California high school track and
field championships.
After living in Mammoth, California to train with the Mammoth Track Club,
Keflezighi moved back to San Diego in 2013. He lives with his wife and
three daughters in Mission Hills.
Keflezighi joked that the first mile of this year's Boston Marathon was
easy, but said as he approached the last mile, he felt like "almost
throwing up because I was running so hard and digging deep." But he said as
he made the final turn of the race and heard the crowd chanting "USA, USA,"
he knew he'd won.
"To be able to change that to something positive that I've been visualizing
for 365 days, I was emotional," he said. "It's an amazing feeling that I've
achieved something that I've been doing for a long time. I feel my career
has been fulfilled 110 percent."
Keflezighi was also the first American in 27 years to win the New York City
Marathon in 2009 and won a silver medal for the U.S. in the marathon at the
2004 Summer Olympics.
City Councilman David Alvarez, who was a classmate of Keflezighi's at San
Diego High School, upped the ante from "Meb Day." He gave Keflezighi a City
Council proclamation that he said made the entire month of May "Meb Day" in
San Diego.
"Let's hope that in 2016, we can do Meb Keflezighi year for the Olympics,"
Alvarez joked.
Received on Sat May 10 2014 - 16:47:44 EDT