American Abdi Abdirahman Drops Out Of Boston Marathon

BOSTON (CBS) - Another elite American runner has dropped out of Monday's 117th running of the Boston Marathon.

Four-time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman has dropped out due to an illness. Abdi, who calls himself "The Black Cactus," joins a group of elite American runners to drop out, including Ryan Hall and Meb Keflezigh.

Abdirahman won the 2008 10,000m at the US Olympic Trials, and qualified for the 2012 games with a third place finish in the Olympic Marathon Trial in Houston, but withdrew from the Olympic marathon with a knee injury.

Born in Somalia, Abdirahman grew up in Tuscon and attended the University of Arizona, where he was named the Pac 10's Cross Country Male Athlete of the Year in 1998.

He became a US citizen in 2000.

Read/Watch: Confident Shalane Flanagan Out To Win Boston

Tune in to the 117th Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013 on WBZ-TV, the only station with start-to-finish coverage of the race!