Meb Keflezighi: From running for his life to running for Olympic gold

15 July 2012 Last updated at 20:36 ET Help

After a brutal civil war broke out in his home country of Eritrea, a young Meb Keflezighi fled with his family to Italy.

When they were granted refugee status by the US, they relocated to San Diego.

Now, at the age of 37, he's in the record books for being the oldest man to win the US trials for the marathon. He hopes to bring home the gold after winning the silver medal in 2004.

The BBC's Franz Strasser went to Meb's home in Mammoth Lakes, California, to hear how he learned to run in the US, not Africa.

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