WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- Meb Keflezighi, a four-time Olympian and winner of the 2014 Boston Marathon, participated in 2016 Air Force Marathon activities, speaking at the Breakfast of Champions, Expo, pasta dinner and running in the 10K.
During his remarks at the Breakfast of Champions, Sept. 16, Keflezighi reflected on his childhood as a refugee from war-torn Eritrea and the difficulties of adjusting to life in the United States, including language and cultural challenges.
He talked about waking up at 4 a.m. every day to study English with his nine siblings, often poring over pages of the dictionary and watching hours of cartoons – because his parents wanted their kids to take advantage of the opportunities afforded them in the U.S., opportunities that family back in Eritrea didn’t have.
Keflezighi talked about the American dream and how his family has been able to live it.
“You may know what I’ve accomplished but they [his siblings] are equally accomplished,” he said. “They are all university graduates [with careers in] engineering, [one is a] doctor, law, MBA, -- I’m probably the least accomplished of the family. But the U.S. gave us the opportunity to maximize our potential, whereas in Eritrea we didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, or what our future would hold.”
Keflezighi said that his interest in running began in the seventh grade.
“It all started with one mile … seventh grade P.E. class,” Keflezighi said. “The teacher said that if you get an A [running the mile], you would get a t-shirt. I didn’t want to disappoint my parents, because they didn’t have that [educational] opportunity, my cousins didn’t have that opportunity, my uncles didn’t have that opportunity, I just ran as hard as I could and to my surprise and everybody else, I ran a 5:20 mile … I got an A and got the tee shirt. The P.E. teacher said ‘you are going to go to the Olympics.’ Keep in mind, after growing up without electricity [in Eritrea] I didn’t even know what the Olympics was.”
Out of the many races Keflezighi has competed in over the years, he said that the most memorable was the 2014 Boston Marathon, held a year after the tragic bombings. He described the emotions of the race and how determined he was to win it for the city of Boston.
He became the first American to win the race in 30 years.
During the breakfast he talked about the Rio Olympics and how happy he was to represent the United States.
“In Rio, wearing the red, white and blue was a great honor,” Keflezighi said. “I wanted to do it for my country, but I wanted to do it for my six-year-old daughter [one of three kids] so she could remember what her dad did. To wear that jersey one more time – that dream came true.”
Keflezighi ended his remarks by thanking audience members in attendance.
“Thank you for your service,” he said. “I appreciate what you all have done for me. It’s a great honor to be here among the great leaders that our country has.”