Boston terrorist act: Belarusian runner finished before blast

“Alena has contacted her parents by phone,” the runner’s second cousin Alyaksei Zarnyak told Euroradio. “She finished the marathon before the explosion and went to meet her friend. They arrived at the marathon by car. She heard the sound of the explosion but was lucky. Alena is not injured.”   

Euroradio: When did you cousin move to the USA?

Alyaksei Zarnyak: “She left in 2001. She graduated from college there (Rutgers-Newark, New Jersey). Many of the exams she had passed in Belarus State Economic University were taken into account. She lives in Hackensack and works for the consulting department of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. She started running marathons long ago and she has won a few medals in her age group. She is also awarded for her success at work.”

Neither the Belarusian Ministry of Sport, nor the Track and Field Athletic Federation have information about our runners. One more Belarusian, Zhanna Ivashchanka, has not finished Boston marathon. Probably, she did not even start running. There is no information about her fate at the moment.