Barack Obama

In a somber ceremony at the American Embassy in Ethiopia on Sunday (May 26th), Lelisa Desisa, the men’s winner of this year’s Boston Marathon, said he intended to donate his medal to the people of Boston.

“Sport holds the power to unify people,” Desisa said. “Sport should never be used as a battleground.”

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Speaking softly through an interpreter, he said that after his finish, “joy turned to sorrow.”

Desisa, who was not injured in the attack, which killed three people and injured more than 260, said he was donating his medal as a tribute to the victims.

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Desisa said he planned to participate in the event next year.

“We commit ourselves to sport,” he said, “and we promise that next year in 2014 we will return to Boston to show the world that our commitment to sport, our commitment to our freedom is stronger than any act of violence.”