ATLANTA - July 4, 2024 - The 55th Running of the AJC
Peachtree Road Race lived up to its billing as the party of the summer, but it
was all business from the professional athletes leading 50,000 runners and
walkers through the rollicking heart of Atlanta on a hot and humid Georgia
Fourth of July morning.
One of them
even made history - with his seventh Peachtree win in the Shepherd Center
Wheelchair Division, the USA's Daniel Romanchuk now owns the most victories
ever in his division.
Prevailing in
the men's footrace was Sabastian Sawe, a 28-year-old Kenyan running only his
second race ever in the U.S. The 2023 World Half Marathon Champion and the
#1-ranking road racer in the world broke the tape in 28:03. For the women,
2-time LA Marathon winner Stacy Ndiwa prevailed in 31:12.
"I didn't
expect to win today," said Ndiwa, who finished sixth here last year. "This is bigger than LA."
Ndiwa, a
31-year-old from Kenya, overtook countrywoman Irine Cheptai in the final meters
to win by one second. Cheptai, who was runner-up here in 2022 as well, finished
in 31:13. Third was Kenya's Grace Loibach (31:20) in her Peachtree debut.
In the early stages
of the men's race, Sawe stayed with the pack when Daniel Ebenyo, ranked #1 in
the world at 10,000 meters on the track, surged to an eight-second lead by Mile
2.
"It took a
while for my body to get going," said Sawe. He'd caught up to Ebenyo by Mile 4,
and by Mile 5 was seven seconds ahead before hanging on for the win as Ebenyo
closed fast behind him.
After winning
the Boston 10K in his U.S. debut late last month, Sawe has been training in
Atlanta for the past week. "It helped me because I was staying in the
humidity," he said of his early arrival.
For Romanchuk
(19:37), the course-record holder whose win streak is actually eight if his
Junior Peachtree victory in 2016 is included, just being here is enough.
"It wouldn't be
the Fourth of July without racing the Peachtree," said the 25-year-old, who's
headed to the Paralympics later this summer. Finishing second was Aaron Pike,
in 20:22, with Geert Schipper of the Netherlands just three seconds back in
third.
In the women's
wheelchair division, course record-holder Susannah Scaroni won for the
third-consecutive year and fourth time overall, in 21:39 - more than three
minutes ahead of her nearest competitor.
Winners in all
four divisions - men's and women's open, men's and women's wheelchair - will
take home $12,500.
In the push-assist
division, the overall winner was 34-year-old Ricardo Aranda, in 37:04.
Winning the
inaugural Elite High School Division for the boys was Kristopher Strong of
Stockbridge High School in 33:04 in a battle with Ethan Bridge of Denmark High
School in Alpharetta (33:06).
"I didn't know
I had that kick left in me," said Strong. As for starting the race alongside
the elite men, "Seeing those guys in front of me made me want to push myself
harder."
In the girls'
high school division, the winner was Georgy Helmers of St. Anne-Pacelli
Catholic School in Columbus, in 37:09. Zahara Bernal of Pace Academy finished
as runner-up, in 37:19.
Top Georgians
were Edward Blaha in 31:09 and Ryann Helmers in 34:30. Winning in the
Non-Binary Division was Patric Campbell in 42:09.
In mid-morning,
with the temperature in the sun-drenched Meadow of Piedmont Park hitting 91
degrees and heat-related medical issues increasing, the race was "black-flagged"
with about 1,100 participants still on the course. Those remaining were still
allowed to claim their coveted finisher's T-shirt.
Before the race
was halted, other notable finishers included Betty Lindberg, who crossed the
line with her usual smile in 3:08:45 just two months before her 100th
birthday; Sen. Rafael Warnock (1:08:50); and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens
(1:05:05).
Asked what it
is about running the Peachtree that brings him joy, Mayor Dickens summed up the
day: "The joy is running on the city's infamous street, Peachtree, and then
coming toward Piedmont Park with 50,000 of our friends from all over the
Globe."