What does your 2004 Olympic silver medal mean to you?

Question

Meb Keflezighi · Answer

The 2004 Olympic silver medal mean a lot to me. It was a dream come true for me to begin with, but it did not start that way. When I was in seventh grade, Coach Duke Lord told me that after running 520 miles to get an A and a title in the class, you're going to be an Olympian. But since I grew up without electricity in a third world country, I didn't know what the Olympics were. So to be able to participate in Sydney, Australia as an Olympian, representing the United States, and then before I left the stadium in Sydney, Australia in 2000, I said I've made a personal goal that I want to win a medal for our country. When I made that goal, it was more than a 10K than the marathon, but to be able to run the original course of the marathon in Athens where the Olympics were founded and in Greece, wow, what a dream come true. And how I cherished it, every bit of it, and coming in the last two miles or so, I knew I was going to win a medal for our country and be the first American or since Frank Shorty in 28 years. So it means a lot to me and dreams do come true and you want to be able to work hard, anything is possible. I feel blessed to be able to win a silver medal. I just want to win a medal and to be able to win a silver in Athens where the origin of the Olympics were and then also in the All-Stadium 1896 is a great lesson of history of sports and Olympics and I feel honored to be able to win that medal in Athens, Greece after 2004. So it means a lot to me.

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"What does your 2004 Olympic silver medal mean to you?"