Gracey is the daughter of 1991 world championship bronze medalist Steve Spence.
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In a special moment previous year, Haslet’s two brothers ran the race, and she joined them at the finish line.
“It’s always been a given to me that I have the same opportunities as men”, she said.
Despite the blisters from running in borrowed shoes and the remnants of an ill-advised, roast beef dinner settling in her stomach, Gibb finished in 3 hours, 21 minutes, 40 seconds.
Police Commissioner William Evans was planning to run in the Boston Marathon but decided he needed to work instead. “I couldn’t be here without you”.
American Tatyana McFadden won the women’s wheelchair division for the fourth consecutive year, while Marcel Hug of Switzerland won the men’s wheelchair race, defending his 2015 title.
Defending champion Caroline Rotich of Kenya was also back in the women’s field.
Most of the top Americans, including 2014 victor Meb Keflezighi, skipped the race after running in the U.S. Olympic trials in February.
Two amputee survivors of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings have returned to cross the finish line this year.
Throughout the day, residents took part in blood drives, food and clothing collections, and other community service projects as the city has proclaimed April 15 as One Boston Day, a day to celebrate the city’s resilience through acts of kindness and generosity.
“After what happened in April of 2013, I don’t think we could have had a higher alert”, Evans said at the press conference.
Rebekah Gregory, who also lost her leg in the bombings, ran the race in 2015.
Patrick Downes completed the Boston Marathon this year, three years after he lost a leg in the bombing.
Haslet was a professional ballroom dancer, having taken up running only recently. She started training using a new running blade last fall.
They both ran the race in 2005, before they knew each other, but she waited for him in a wheelchair Monday.
Sarah Anderson, 36, of Back Bay, said the security measures helped spectators enjoy the Boston Marathon and remain at ease during the day of celebration.
“I feel OK, but I don’t feel like talking right now”, she said with a tight smile.
Bobbi Gibb, artist, neuroscientist and first woman to run the Boston Marathon. His total race time was 05:56:46. “It allowed them to have their own race”, she said.
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A member of the Narragansett Tribe in Rhode Island, Brown’s 1936 victory is best remembered for the coining of the term “Heartbreak Hill”.
