A Fife athlete has spoken of the shock that descended on Boston as news spread of Monday’s bomb horror.
Olympian Andrew Lemoncello was cheering on runners from the sidelines of the marathon just before the blasts that killed three people.
The 30-year-old runner, who was mentoring a team of competitors, had tried to get to the finish line where the first blast struck but was unable to get through the crowds.
Instead, he returned to his hotel three-quarters of a mile from the scene. He learned of the disaster in a message from a friend near where the first of two bombs went off.
After ensuring his team was accounted for, he called his pregnant wife Julie to assure her he was OK.
He said: “We were trying to make sure everyone was safe, which was tough as the phone service went down right away.
“I managed to get Skype on my mobile phone and get through to people and call our families to tell them not to worry.”
He said: “When you stepped outside you couldn’t tell anything was going on because the buildings blocked the view, it looked totally normal.
“But look the other way and there was a sea of ambulances and emergency vehicles heading our way.”
He and his party were trapped in their hotel for six hours.
He said: “It’s hard when you can’t do anything to help when you are so close but you have to do what you are told by the authorities.”
As he spoke to The Courier, he was about to board a plane to go home, having cut short his trip.
He said: “I just want to get home and see my wife.”