RRW: World Champs Medalist Rich Kenah To Lead Atlanta Track Club
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2014 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
February 5, 2014
Rich Kenah, who won 800m bronze medals at both the 1997 world indoor and outdoor championships, has been selected as the new executive director of the Atlanta Track Club (ATC), officials announced today. Kenah, 43, who presently works as an athlete representative and events manager at Global Athletics & Marketing in Boston, will assume his new position on Feb. 24. He succeeds Tracey Russell who left the ATC last year to become the chief executive of the Asics LA Marathon.
“Rich is a proven leader in our sport,” said ATC board chairman Bill Duffey through a statement. “His passion for running and his abiding commitment to promote health and fitness through engagement in our sport uniquely qualifies him to lead the Atlanta Track Club in its mission to serve our members and our community.”
Kenah, who ran for Georgetown University during his NCAA career, is best known for his third place finish at the 1997 IAAF World Championships in Athens. Denmark’s Wilson Kipketer was a clear winner in 1:43.38, but behind him there was a pitched battle for the remaining two spots on the podium. Cuba’s Norberto Tellez claimed second in 1:44-flat, and Kenah came from sixth place at 600 meters with a brilliant stretch run on the inside to nip Kenya’s Patrick Konchellah at the tape and finish third by just 1/100th of a second in 1:44.25. His was the last USA 800m medal at a world championships before Nick Symmonds claimed silver last summer in Moscow.
“Running has been a constant in my life since I participated in my first race at the age of six,” Kenah said through a statement. “I am thrilled to join the Atlanta Track Club as it celebrates 50 years and look forward to being part of a team of people whose mission it is to excite, encourage and inspire others to better fitness through running and walking.”
Founded in 1964, the ATC is a not-for-profit organization which promotes health and fitness through running and walking. The organization puts on 25 events during the year, their largest the AJC Peachtree Road Race which is the world’s largest fully-timed 10-K which had 55,830 finishers last year. With more than 19,000 members, the ATC is the second largest membership-based running organization in the United States behind the New York Road Runners.