Community Corner
Boston Marathon Winner Giving Medal to City
Lelisa Desisa is performing the gesture Sunday as a way to honor those impacted by the Boston Marathon bombings.
Lelisa Desisa, the Ethiopian runner who won the 2013 Boston Marathon hours before bomb blasts killed three and injured hundreds at the finish line, will be giving his medal to the City of Boston in a ceremony on Boston Common Sunday.
According to a statement on the Boston Athletic Association website, Desisa will give the medal to Boston Mayor Thomas Menino at 10 a.m. on the common near Charles Street.
Desisa is giving the medal to the city on behalf of all Boston Marathon runners to honor bombing victims and their families.
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Desisa said the bombings "brought pain to many families and tremendous sorrow into many homes" and that he was giving his medal to the city "as a gesture of my solidarity with the victims of this senseless act of violence," according to the statement.
He announced his intention to give his medal to Boston at a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry last month.
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Menino said in the statement that "countless acts of kindness and generosity have lifted our spirits and inspired us" since the bombings, this being one of them.
"On behalf of the City of Boston, we thank Lelisa for his thoughtful and moving gesture," Menino said.
Desisa will be participating in the B.A.A. 10K prior to the ceremony.
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