At the 123rd Boston Marathon on Monday, Daniel Romanchuk won the men’s wheelchair division. He was the youngest winner of the race ever at 20 years old, as well as the first American to win the men’s division since 1993.
During his medal ceremony, the American flag was draped over his shoulders. In order to place the medal around his neck, a race official took the flag off his shoulders, crumpled it up and set it on the ground as he placed the medal around Romanchuk’s neck.
The Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon, and as such, it’s a sporting event in which Americans take great pride. When an American wins one of the races, the country takes a collective patriotic pride in the victory. In athletics, a national flag often demonstrates who the competitors are and represents where they come from.
The flag of the United States should never touch the ground, as per the Flag Code, especially during a traditional ceremony — let alone be crumpled up and tossed aside. This oversight should not have happened, but we must take it for what it was — a simple mistake.
The BAA properly responded with near-immediate recognition of the faux pas and an acknowledgement of the importance of what the flag stands for. Jack Fleming, the Chief Operating Officer of the BAA, issued an apology for the organization’s actions.
“We are reviewing our Awards protocol to ensure that this does not happen again,” Fleming said. “The Boston Marathon has been an American tradition for more than a century and we take pride in the passion and determination that participants, spectators, and volunteers from around the world display at our annual event.
“Our flag is a symbol of freedom, unity, and community spirit — all of which are virtues that the Boston Athletic Association supports.”
As Americans, we respect our country’s flag and all the values it represents: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, among others. But no one should be accused of disrespecting these values, or the country, simply because they put a flag on the floor.
Words matter. During the Boston Marathon, we must be mindful and respectful of the accomplishments of the elite athletes who excel on such a high-profile stage.
Romanchuk won the Chicago and New York City marathons and placed third at Boston’s in 2018. He is an accomplished athlete who also attends college at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Romanchuk had to reach out to his professors about missing class prior to the race.
Romanchuk was born with spina bifida, a condition in which the spinal column doesn’t close all the way. This did not hold him back. He attended an adaptive sports program at age two, and around the age of six, he competed in his first track meet. By an early age, he frequently set records and competed nationally.
The hard work Romanchuk put into his sport over the course of his lifetime deserves to take center stage on and following his celebratory day in Boston. All eyes should be on him, not on a flag tossed in a corner.
It is impossible not to celebrate the marathon without recognizing the bombings that took place six years ago. Three people lost their lives to the explosions, including Boston University student Lingzi Lu, and more than 260 were injured due to the actions of terrorists who targeted a major American hub. Out of this tragedy came the slogan, “Boston Strong.”
This slogan is in many ways similar to the American flag. Not the colors, stars or stripes of the flag, but the real meaning behind it: strength and pride.
Marathons are about the ability to reach excellence and work tirelessly toward a seemingly impossible goal. That is what Romanchuk did on Monday, and we should not remember his name because of a crumpled up flag.
Rather, we should remember him for the strength he demonstrated and for the pride he has bestowed on the city of Boston and the United States of America.
