- Bill Iffrig, the man who fell on his back at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, has died
- At the age of 89, the Marysville, Washington, runner died on January 8 from natural causes
- Iffrig became a national symbol of resilience, with President Barack Obama mentioning his name as he addressed the nation after the attack
Bill Iffrig, the man pictured falling on his back at the finish line of the Boston Marathon after the first two bombs went off in a terrorist attack in 2013, has died at the age of 89.
Iffrig died on January 8 in Marysville, Washington, of natural causes Everett Herald.
On April 15, 2013, Iffrig – pictured in an orange vest – was moments away from completing the Boston Marathon when he was knocked down by the blast.
He then staggered to his feet and finished the race in just over four hours, placing fourth in his age group.
Iffrig’s photo became a national symbol of resilience, with President Barack Obama mentioning his name as he addressed the nation after the attack that left three people dead.
Bill Iffrig, the man who fell on his back at the finish line of the Boston Marathon after the first two bombs went off in 2013, has died at the age of 89.
“Like Bill Iffrig, 78 years old – the runner in the orange tank top who we all saw knocked down by the blast – we may be knocked down for a moment, but we’ll get back up. We shall go on. We will end the race,” Obama said in 2013.
The photo was published on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the April 22, 2013 issue.
WCVB reported that Iffrig suffered hearing loss in his left ear and minor muscle damage in his right thigh as a result of the fall.
In 2015, he ran the Boston Marathon again and finished second in his age category.
“I ran close to the left curb. There were other runners around me, but none were too close. “I was just about to reach the line, maybe 20 yards away, when I was hit by a wall of noise,” Iffrig said. Runner’s World in 2013.
‘It was the loudest thing I’d ever heard. I immediately thought of a bomb: the extremists had detonated a bomb.
‘My body responded and my legs went like spaghetti. I felt myself falling to the pavement. As I fell, I thought, this could be it. This will be the end of me.”
Iffrig admitted he was stunned after the attack, but he was in no pain and saw no blood. Then he saw the three officers running towards him.
‘One of them asked if I was okay. I nodded my head yes. Now I thought: maybe I’ll be okay. “I’m not going to die today,” he said.
Iffrig, who became a national symbol after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, took up running in his 40s and became a decorated athlete
A native of Washington, Iffrig worked as a carpenter for 20 years before working as a mason until his retirement in 1994.
He didn’t start running until he was forty, but became a decorated track and field athlete. In 2009, he won the U.S. Track and Field Cross Country Championship in the men’s ages 76-79.
He is survived by his two children, Mark Iffrig and Susan Shepard, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His wife of 69 years, Donna, died in November.
Mark Iffrig said: ‘He was just an earthy type of man. He was just humble, hardworking and friendly.
“If you didn’t know he was a runner and didn’t bring it up, he would never talk to you about it. When he lost a race, he acted as if nothing had happened, and when he won a race, he acted as if nothing had happened. He just came home and worked in the garden.’
