Runner Bill Iffri, who was knocked on his back in iconic photo from 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, dies at age 89

Bill Iffrig, the man pictured falling on his back near the Boston Marathon finish line, has passed awayAt 89-years-old, the runner died in Marysville, Washington, on January 8 from natural causesIffrig became a national symbol of resilience, with President Barack Obama mentioning his name while addressing the nation after the attack

Bill Iffrig, the man pictured falling on his back near the Boston Marathon finish line after the first two bombs went off in a terrorist attack in 2013, has died at 89 years old.

Iffrig died in Marysville, Washington, on January 8 from natural causes, reported the Everett Herald.

On April 15, 2013, Iffrig – pictured in an orange vest – was steps away from completing the Boston Marathon when he was knocked down by the blast.

He then staggered to his feet and finished the race in just over four hours, placing fourth in his age group.

The photo of Iffrig became a national symbol of resilience, with President Barack Obama mentioning his name while addressing the nation after the attack that killed three people.

Bill Iffrig, the man pictured falling on his back near the Boston Marathon finish line after the first two bombs went off in 2013, has died at 89 years old

‘Like Bill Iffrig, 78 years old — the runner in the orange tank top who we all saw get knocked down by the blast — we may be momentarily knocked off our feet, but we’ll pick ourselves up. We’ll keep going. We will finish the race,’ Obama said in 2013.

The photo was published on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the April 22, 2013 issue.

WCVB reported Iffrig suffered hearing loss in his left ear and minor muscle damage in his right thigh as a result of the fall.

He ran the Boston Marathon again in 2015 and finished second in his age group.

‘I was running close to the left-hand curb. There were other runners around me, but none were too close. I was just about to the line, maybe 20 yards away, when I got hit by this wall of noise,’ Iffrig told Runner’s World in 2013.

‘It was the loudest thing I’d ever heard. I immediately thought of a bomb—the extremists had set off a bomb.

‘My body reacted and my legs just went like spaghetti. I felt myself falling to the pavement. As I fell I thought, This might be it. This will be the end of me.’

Iffrig admitted he was stunned after the attack, but he wasn’t in pain and didn’t see any blood. He then saw the three cops running toward him.

‘One of them asked if I was okay. I nodded my head yes. Now I was thinking, Maybe I’m all right. I’m not going to die today,’ he said.

Iffrig, who became a national symbol after the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing, began running in his 40s and became a decorated athlete

Iffrig, a Washington native, worked as a carpenter for 20 years before working as a brick mason until his retirement in 1994.

He did not begin running until his 40s, but became a decorated athlete in the field. In 2009, he won the USA Track and Field cross country national championship in the men’s ages 76-79 division.

He is survived by his two children, Mark Iffrig and Susan Shepard, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His wife of 69 years, Donna, died in November.

Mark Iffrig said, ‘He was just a salt-of-the-earth type of guy. He was just humble, hard-working and kind.

‘If you didn’t know he was a runner and didn’t bring it up, he’d never talk about it to you. If he lost a race he acted like nothing happened, and if he won a race he acted like nothing happened. He’d just come home and work in the yard.’