Mystery Man Who Shoveled the Boston Marathon Finish Line Becomes Internet Hero

Jess Baker
Published: January 28,2015

 

 

 

 

The finish line of the Boston Marathon has been a scene of both triumph and heartbreak.

But Wednesday morning, after Winter Storm Juno dumped 2 feet of snow in Boston, the finish line on Boylston Street became the center of an Internet mystery.
Philip Hillman was staying in a hotel nearby when he captured the photo of an anonymous person shoveling the finish line,  the Boston Globe reports.

Gabrielle Daniels @AroundTownGabby

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Powerful photo, taken by my friend @PhillyIdol1017 - let's find the guy in the photo! #whoshoveledthefinishline

8:57 AM - 28 Jan 2015

The photo caught fire on Twitter, sparking an Internet manhunt of sorts, under the hashtag #WhoShoveledTheFinishLine as well as #BostonStrong, which has become the city’s unofficial slogan since the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings on Boylston Street.
The Associated Press later identified the shoveler as Chris Laudani, a Boston bartender.
Although Laudani has remained silent on the issue, his mother spoke to the Boston Herald. She told the newspaper, “He just wanted to do it and he doesn’t think what he did was anything special.”
The good samaritan may not want any attention, but his kind deed didn't go unnoticed.
"For someone to brave the blizzard to clear our finish line for us is yet another statement as to what our event means not only to runners but also to Americans," Tom Grilk, executive director of the Boston Athletic Association, told The Associated Press.
Even the Boston Police Department featured photos on its website thanking the “chivalrous shoveler.”
MORE: Winter Storm Juno Slams New England