BOSTON — The final runner of the 2015 Boston Marathon crossed the finish line early Tuesday morning after battling torrential downpours and thunderstorms for the final few miles.
Channel 11's sister station FOX25 in Boston was at the finish line around 5 a.m. when 39-year-old Michael Melamed crossed.
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The 39-year-old Venezuelan athlete with muscular dystrophy overcame incredible odds and finished the marathon after walking for about 20 hours.
Melamed hasn't let his muscular dystrophy get in the way from completing five marathons, according to FOX25. He races for charity and to educate and inspire Venezuelan youth. Melamed is also a university professor and motivational speaker.
FOX25 reports Melamed was accompanied along the race by volunteers and he was met at the finish line by dozens of cheering friends and supporters.
"The wind, the rain, the cold, everything was overcome…because when we are a team the human creativity and human magic appears every time," Melamed told FOX25 after he finished.
Melamed has participated in marathons in Chicago, New York, Berlin and Tokyo – but said Boston is special because it’s where his parents brought him as a child for treatment.
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