The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
– ‘It did make me anxious’ –
Security in New York had already been boosted in 2013 after the Boston marathon attack that saw two youths of Chechen descent plant two bombs near the finish line, killing three people and wounding more than 250 others, including spectators.
The Islamic State group has described Sayfullo Saipov — the 29-year-old man charged with driving a rented pickup truck down a crowded bike path in Manhattan on Tuesday — as one of its own, prompting Trump to call for his execution.
As the marathon began, New Yorkers said they were coming together in the aftermath of the latest attack to strike America’s most populous city.
In the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn, Jean Schnell was waiting to see her daughter run past. Tuesday’s attack made her nervous, she admitted, especially because she is from Boston.
“It did make me anxious about coming to New York, and her running, but we were going to come support her anyway, so it didn’t really make any difference,” she said. “I think today you have to live your life.”
But despite the attack, the drizzle that began to fall early on and cool temperatures, New York made its marathon a loud event filled with constant cheers and an incongruous mix of rap, rock, country, merengue and folk music.
“After 20 miles, it got rough, but the crowd support just kept me going,” said Bill Bentley, who was running in the New York race for the first time.
– It ‘helps people heal’ –
Flanagan, the 2008 Olympic silver medalist in the 10,000-meter event, had earlier underscored that sort of determination.
“What I do know, 100 percent, is that we’re a very resilient nation and I don’t think there are many tougher people than New Yorkers, and marathoners are pretty tough too,” she said before the race.
“So I think it’s an opportunity to show resilience and strength and coming together… And when you come together as a community it really empowers people and helps people heal.”
Flanagan said the carnage in New York had hit her hard as a veteran of the 2013 Boston marathon.
“It’s obviously devastating and very concerning,” she said of the New York attack.
“I’ve been in a terrorist attack in 2013 in Boston. I was there that day and had just completed my race. So it very much hits home and is very personal to me.”
Flanagan said she would consider retiring if she stunned the field with a victory on Sunday.
