Last Man to Finish Boston Marathon Inspires a Nation Manuel Rueda - Fusion
go to original April 21, 2015

A Venezuelan economist with muscular dystrophy was the last man to finish the Boston Marathon, 20 hours after the race began, and long after Monday’s crowds had gone home. Still, he crossed the finish line to a champion’s welcome.

Maickel Melamed, 39, hobbled through pouring rain on Boston’s mostly empty streets to reach the finish line at 5 a.m. on Tuesday. He was surrounded by dozens of ecstatic Venezuelans who cheered him on and counted out his final steps.

“The rain, the distance, the cold, everything today was overcome because we are a team,” Melamed said in English upon crossing the finish line.

“The human creativity, the human magic appears every time,” he told a pack of local news cameras who gathered around him.

Melamed’s achievements are already famous in Venezuela, where he is a well known youth educator and motivational speaker. Though he suffers from a condition that severely weakens his muscles, Melamed has already participated in five major marathons, and climbed his nation’s highest peak.

Venezuelans supported Melamed throughout Monday’s race on Twitter. “Seeing Melamed cross the line makes my heart grow large,” said TV presenter Alejandra Ora.

Read the rest at Fusion

Photo: vivelohoy.com

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