Bill Iffrig, runner in the iconic Boston Marathon bombing photo, dies at 89

Bill Iffrig, who became a national symbol of resilience for appearing in a photo documenting his fall at the 2013 Boston Marathon finish line after the first of two bombs exploded and who quickly got up and completed the race, died on January 8 . was 89.

Mr. Iffrig died at a memory care facility in Marysville, Washington, according to his son, Mark Iffrig, who confirmed his father's death.

Mr Iffrig, an experienced mountain climber and president of a local climbing club, did not start running until he was 42. He went on to win dozens of national championships in races of various distances.

He ran more than 50 marathons, including several Boston Marathons. Mr. Iffrig finished second in his age group of over-80s at the 2015 Boston Marathon, his son said.

However, Mr. Iffrig gained national attention after running in the Boston Marathon in 2013, the year two homemade pressure cooker bombs were detonated. Three people were killed that day, 17 lost limbs and another 250 were injured, many of them seriously.

Mr Iffrig was about 60 feet from the finish line when the first bomb went off, knocking him to the ground. The moment was captured by John Tlumacki, a photographer for The Boston Globe.

In a 2015 interview with MSNBCMr Iffrig recalled the explosion and lying on the ground as he assessed whether he had been injured.

Since he wasn't bleeding and all his joints were “working fine,” he decided he could continue, he said.

“I'm going to get up and finish this thing,” he remembered thinking. 'I was there for four hours. I didn't want to stop.”

Soon his bright orange shirt became known throughout the country.

He became a symbol of resilience. President Barack Obama mentioned him by name as he addressed the nation after the bombings.

“Like Bill Iffrig, 78 years old — the runner in the orange tank top who we all saw crushed by the blast — we may be knocked down for a moment, but we'll get back up,” Obama said.

Before his photo circulated in the news, Mr. Iffrig lived a quiet life in Washington state.

William George Iffrig was born on June 13, 1934 in Everett, Washington, the son of Clarence and Fannie Iffrig. His father worked at a cast iron company in Everett, and his mother was primarily a homemaker and did some housework later in life, Mark Iffrig said.

Shortly after Bill Iffrig graduated from Everett High School, he began working as a carpenter for Weyerhaeuser, a pulp mill. He worked there for about twenty years before the factory closed.

He later became a mason for Scott Paper Company, where he worked for about twenty years before retiring.

In addition to his son Mark, Mr Iffrig had a daughter, Susan Shephard, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His wife Donna, to whom he was married for 69 years, died in November. His other son, Curtis, died in a car accident in 1979 when he was 17.

Despite his achievements in racing, Mr. Iffrig remained humble, Mark Iffrig recalls.

“If he lost or won the race, he was the same person,” he said on Saturday. “He didn't talk about himself, he just went about his business.”