Bombing survivors Patrick Downes, Adrianne Haslet finish marathon

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Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Boston Marathon bombing survivors Patrick Downes and Adrianne Haslet completed the race Monday, three years after three were killed in the explosions near the Boylston Street finish line, which also left hundreds injured.

Downes, who used the prosthetic blade he has needed since he lost his left leg in the attacks,reached the finish line minutes before 2:49 p.m., which marked the time of the explosions.He completed the course in 5 hours, 56 minutes, 46 seconds.

Haslet, a professional ballroom dancer who also lost a leg, finished sometime after 7:15 p.m. after spending nearly 10 hours on the course.

Haslet received congratulations from President Barack Obama's Twitteraccount.

Most of the top Americans, including 2014 winner Meb Keflezighi, skipped the race after running in the U.S. Olympic trials in February.

Zachary Hine of Dallas was the top U.S. man, and he finished 10th. Neely Spence Gracey, of Superior, Colorado, was the first American woman to finish, and she came in ninth.

Gracey and Sarah Crouch, of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, were among the leaders through the first seven miles before they fell behind.

"The energy was spectacular," said Gracey, who ran against Crouch in college. "We were commenting back and forth saying, 'Wow! We are leading the Boston Marathon. We need to take this in and relish the moment.'"

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.