BOSTON (WHDH) - After finishing the 121st running of the Boston Marathon, American Meb Keflezighi greeted Martin Richard’s parents and kissed them on the hand in what was a powerful display of emotion.

Keflezighi snapped an almost three-decade American drought as he ran down Boylston Street to raucous chants of “U-S-A!” in 2014, the year after the finish line bombings killed three people and wounded more than 260 others.

Martin Richard, 8, was among those who were killed by the blasts. Keflezighi could bee seen after Monday’s race greeting his parents, Bill and Denise.

“Every year I come here, I meet Bill and his family,” Keflezighi said. He said running the race with Martin Richard in mind is “personal” because he has an eight-year-old daughter.

Keflezighi, 41, of San Diego, finished 13th this year in what he said will be his last competitive run in Boston.

He plans to run the New York Marathon, which he won in 2009, one last time in the fall before retiring.

(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Join our Newsletter for the latest news right to your inbox