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Kitwara and Chepkurui Claim Victories at the AJC Peachtree Road Race 2009 Abdirahman Clinches USA 10 km Championship for the Third Year in a Row
Atlanta, July 4, 2009 - The elite fields at the AJC Peachtree Road Race did not disappoint as Sammy Kitwara (KEN) and Lineth Chepkurui (KEN) both took home victories at the 40th running of the event with unofficial finish times of 27:22 and 31:31 respectively. In addition to taking home the top prize at Peachtree, both Kitwara and Chepkurui were eligible for the Professional Road Racing Organizations (PRRO) championship bonus and will be splitting the $35,000 prize bringing each of their total Peachtree earnings to $32,500.
With unusually cooler temperatures at the start and low humidity, we knew that we would be in for some great races in both the mens and womens fields, stated Tracey Russell, Executive Director of the Atlanta Track Club. The best of the of the best definitely came out for the 40th running of the AJC Peachtree Road Race.
Kitwara, who was in the lead for most of the race, ran a personal best today at the 10 km distance. Kitwara recently claimed a 10,000 m victory at the Kenyan Championships (27:44.46) which was the fastest 10,000 m ever run on Kenyan soil. When asked about his Peachtree and PRRO championship victory, Kitwara simply stated, I came here to win. The next stop for Kitwara will be the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Germany this August.
On the womens side, the 2009 event proved to have one of the deepest Peachtree womens fields in recent history with Kenyans and Ethiopians dominating the top 10. The lead pack of runners stayed around five deep almost to the finish when Chepkurui edged out second place finisher Meseret Mengsitu of Ethiopia (31:32). I wasnt here last year because I was injured, commented Chepkurui. Im very delighted about this win.
Abdi Abdirahman of Tucson, Arizona was the first American male to cross the finish with a time of 28:11, clinching his third USA Mens 10 km Championship. Abdirahman, who has been battling an IT band injury most of the year, stated, My goal was to win the (USA Mens 10 km Championship) title and to do the best in the race that I could. Abdirahman came in seventh overall in the mens field.
In the Masters races, Yevgeny Sirotin of the Ukraine beat out Houston resident Sean Wade for the mens title with a time of 30:57, and three-time Olympian and current US Masters Half Marathon Champion, Colleen De Reuck claimed the womens title with a time of 34:27.
With over 50,000 timed finishers at the 2009 event, the AJC Peachtree Road Race is the largest ever timed race in the sport.
Open Men Place Name 1 SAMMY KITWARA 22 27:22 KEN $15,000 2 RIDOUANE HARROUFI 27 28:02 MAR $7,500 3 GASHU IBRAHIM JEILAN 19 28:02 ETH $3,000 4 TADESE TOLA* 21 28:05 ETH $2,500 5 BOAZ CHEBOIYWO 30 28:05 KEN $2,000 6 TESFAYE BEKELE 25 28:08 ETH $1,500 7 ABDI ABDIRAHMAN 32 28:11 USA $1,000 8 ROBERT LETTING 24 28:14 KEN $800 9 ANTHONY FAMIGLIETTI 30 28:15 USA $700 10 JAMES CARNEY 31 28:19 USA $600 11 DANIEL KIPKOECH 22 28:38 KEN $500 12 IAN BURRELL 24 28:42 USA $400 13 ERNEST KEBENEI 24 28:42 KEN $300 14 STEPHEN CHEMLANY 26 28:43 KEN $250 15 PATRICK SMYTH 22 28:49 USA $200
*Protest as a result of possible unsportsmanlike conduct.
Open Women Place Name 1 LINETH CHEPKURUI 21 31:31 KEN $15,000 2 MESERET MENGSITU 19 31:32 ETH $7,500 3 ALICE TIMBILILI 26 31:33 KEN $3,000 4 ABEBU GELAN 19 31:45 ETH $2,500 5 AMANE GOBENA 26 31:52 ETH $2,000 6 IRENE LIMIKA 29 32:11 KEN $1,500 7 EDNA KIPLAGAT 29 32:18 KEN $1,000 8 BELIANESH GEBRE 21 32:36 ETH $800 9 NADIA EJJAFINI 28 32:43 BRN $700 10 NERIAH ASIBA 26 32:51 KEN $600 11 HYVON NGETICH 24 33:01 KEN $500 12 HIRUT MANDEFRO 23 33:06 ETH $400 13 ILSA PAULSON 20 33:09 USA $300 14 SALLY MEYERHOFF 25 33:11 USA $250 15 ALLISON GRACE 26 33:12 USA $200
USA Mens 10 km Championship Place Name 1 ABDI ABDIRAHMAN 32 28:11 TUCSON, AZ $10,000 2 ANTHONY FAMIGLIETTI 30 28:15 KNOXVILLE, TN $6,000 3 JAMES CARNEY 31 28:19 BOULDER, CO $4,000 4 IAN BURRELL 25 28:42 FLAGSTAFF, AZ $3,000 5 PATRICK SMYTH 23 28:49 SALT LAKE CITY, UT $1,500 6 ED M MORAN 28 28:50 WILLIAMSBURG, VA $1,000 7 ANDREW CARLSON 27 28:53 FLAGSTAFF, AZ $900 8 FOREST BRADEN 26 29:04 SPOKANE, WA $800 9 JASON HARTMANN 28 29:04 BOULDER, CO $700 10 STEPHEN FURST 23 29:05 RALEIGH, NC $600 11 ANTONIO VEGA 25 29:05 SAINT PAUL, MN $500 12 JUSTIN YOUNG 29 29:08 SUPERIOR, CO $400 13 GIRMA MECHESO ** 21 29:27 ATLANTA, GA 14 JEREMY R CRISCIONE** 22 29:29 GAINESVILLE, FL 15 JOSH MOEN 16 TOMMY NEAL 26 29:33 COLORADO SPRINGS, CO $200 17 EDWARDO TORRES 28 29:39 BOULDER, CO $100
**Ineligible due to NCAA eligibility.
Top 3 American Women Place Name 1 ILSA PAULSON 20 33:09 NEW YORK, NY $1,000 2 SALLY MEYERHOFF 25 33:11 EUGENE, OR $500 3 ALLISON GRACE 26 33:12 BLOWING ROCK, NC $300
Masters Men Place Name 1 YEVGENY SIROTIN 40 30:57 UKR $1,500 2 SEAN WADE 3 PAUL AUFDEMBERGE 44 31:15 USA $500 4 PAUL MWANGI 42 31:46 KEN $300 5 JOHN REICH
Masters Women Place Name 1 COLLEEN DE REUCK 45 34:27 USA $1,500 2 ALBINA GALLYAMOVA 45 35:43 RUS $1,000 3 TATIANA TITOVA 43 35:59 RUS $500 4 TRINA PAINTER 43 36:12 USA $300 5 MICHELLE SIMONAITIS 43 36:50 USA $200
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About The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road RaceThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race is a 10K event that takes place every Fourth of July in Atlanta, Georgia. The first Peachtree was held in 1970 and featured 110 runners. The Peachtree is now the largest running event in the United States with 55,000 participants. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race is perhaps most famous for the coveted Peachtree t-shirt, which is handed out to all the event finishers. For more information on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race visit www.atlantatrackclub.org or www.ajc.com/peachtree.
About the Atlanta Track Club The Atlanta Track Club is a non-profit organization established to inspire and engage the community to achieve health and fitness through running. With close to 9,000 members, the ATC is the second largest running organization in the United States. In addition to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race the largest running event in the US and The Atlanta Marathon and Half Marathon, the Atlanta Track Club directs more than 25 running events per year. For more information on the Atlanta Track Club, please visit www.atlantatrackclub.org.
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