Inspirational Guest Athlete: Marathon Meb

Meb Keflezighi, aka "Marathon Meb" shares his inspirational journey toward London. Meb came to the US from the war-torn African country of Eritrea with his parents and 10 siblings when he was 12 years old. Speaking almost no English, in 7th grade, he shocked his teachers and classmates by running a 5:20 mile. And Meb hasn't stopped running. He won silver in Athens in 2004, becoming the first American man on the marathon podium since 1976. Then in 2008, tragedy struck. Meb got dehydrated and broke his hip at the Olympic Trials. And even more tragically, his friend and training partner died during trials. Undeterred, Meb spent months rehabbing his injury and just trying to walk. Amazingly, nearly two years to the date later, and in the same city, he made his comeback and then some, winning the New York City Marathon - the world's largest marathon. Meb was the first American to win this race since 1982. And he's still not done. At 37 years old, Meb heads into the 2012 London Olympics as Olympic Trials champion, with his personal best time of 2:09:08. In this interview, as a special to Gymnastike, the charming and inspirational Meb talks about overcoming his struggles, embodying the American Dream, his outlook for Team USA in London, his daughters, and much more. Meb is part of Team Citi's Every Step of the Way program, which helps support US Olympic hopefuls. Learn more about Every Step of the Way by visiting http://www.citi.com/everystep and http://www.facebook.com/citieverystep.