Elite Athlete Fields Set for 55th Running of AJC Peachtree Road Race
ATLANTA - June 27, 2024 - Two of the top road racers in the world will face off in the 55th Running of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race, organizers announced today.
In his first season of competition in the U.S., Sabastian Sawe comes to Atlanta ranked as the #1 road racer in the world, based on distances from 10K to the half marathon. The 29-year-old Kenyan brings a personal best of 26:49, the second-fastest 10K time in the world last year, and the reigning World Half Marathon Champion sits on top of the 2024 leaderboard for the fastest half marathon in the world so far this year, 58:24.
In a rematch of those 2023 World Half Marathon Championships, Sawe will face Kenya's Daniel Ebenyo, 28, who earned a silver medal in that race last fall. Ebenyo was leading until Sawe drew even with a few hundred meters remaining, going on to a four-second victory. "We pushed each other to a good result," Ebenyo said afterward.
Ebenyo, the 2023 World Championships silver medalist at 10,000 meters on the track, is ranked #1 in the world for 10K on the roads. His personal best of 26:58 is second in the Peachtree field only to Sawe. Both will be making their Peachtree debuts.
Among the other top athletes in the field are Mathew Kimeli of Kenya (27:07) and Boniface Kibiwott (27:13) of Kenya and Jake Robertson of New Zealand (27:28). Returning to the Peachtree for the 10th time is American Elkanah Kibet, 41.
In the Shepherd Center Wheelchair Division, course record-holder Daniel Romanchuk of the USA will have a chance to make history as the first athlete in the men's open division to win the Peachtree seven times. Romanchuk, 25, has won Peachtree for the past six years in a row, but will have to fend off American Aaron Pike, a six-time Paralympian, and Josh Cassidy of Canada, a two-time Peachtree champion.
The field for the women's footrace is headlined by 24-year-old Emmaculate Anyango, whose 10K personal best of 28:57 makes her the second-fastest woman in history at the distance. The Kenyan is currently ranked as the #4 road racer in the world.
Jesca Chelangat (30:01), returning after finishing second here last year, will be the main challenge for Anyango.
Also returning will be Susannah Scaroni, the 2020 Paralympic gold medalist at 5,000 meters.
The 33-year-old Peachtree course record-holder will be seeking her fourth win here since 2018
and third in a row. Scaroni missed the spring marathon season with an overuse injury but is
apparently back to form: She set a World Record for 5,000 meters on the track in early June.
The winner of each professional division will receive $12,500.
For the first time, the Peachtree will feature an Elite High School Division, giving the best young distance runners in Georgia the chance to experience professional road racing first-hand. The field is composed of the top 20 boys and top 20 girls from the classes of 2025, 2026 and 2027 residing in Georgia who accepted an invitation from Atlanta Track Club.
The 55th Running of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race will be held Thursday, July 4, in Atlanta, Georgia, with 50,000 runners and walkers making their way from Lenox Square to Piedmont Park in the world's largest 10K. The event will be livestreamed on AJC.com and on the AJC News app beginning at 6 a.m., with Lewis Johnson, Carrie Tollefson and Amanda McGrory leading the broadcast team.
The full fields of athletes - elite open, wheelchair and high school division:
Men's Open Division
|
Name |
Country |
10K
Personal Best |
|
Sabastian
Sawe |
KEN |
26:49 |
|
Daniel
Ebenyo |
KEN |
26:58 |
|
Mathew
Kimeli |
KEN |
27:07 |
|
Boniface
Kibiwott |
KEN |
27:13 |
|
Hillary
Kipkoech |
KEN |
27:23 |
|
Jake
Robertson |
NZL |
27:28 |
|
Robert
Kiprop Koech |
KEN |
27:54 |
|
Reuben
Mosip |
KEN |
28:06 |
|
Josphat
Kipchirchir |
KEN |
28:10 |
|
Hendrik
Pfeiffer |
GER |
28:49 |
|
Johannes
Motschmann |
GER |
28:51 |
|
Elkanah
Kibet |
USA |
28:57 |
|
Yemane
Haileselassie |
ERI |
29:01 |
|
Jake
Riley |
USA |
29:07 |
|
Jack
Mastandrea |
USA |
29:37 |
|
Jason
Weitzel |
USA |
29:40 |
|
Eduardo
Garcia |
ISV |
29:57 |
|
Craig
Lautenslager |
NZL |
29:26 |
|
Robert
Miranda |
USA |
29:56 |
|
Wilkerson
Given |
USA
|
30:01 |
|
Willy
Fink |
USA |
Debut |
|
JP
Trojan |
USA
|
Debut |
|
Karl
Thiessen |
USA |
Debut |
|
Nadir
Yusuf |
USA |
Debut |
|
Debulu
Ede |
ETH |
Debut |
|
Moath
Alkhawaldeh |
JOR |
Debut |
|
Andrew
Bowman |
USA |
Debut |
Men's Shepherd Center Wheelchair Division
|
Aaron
Pike |
USA |
18:11 |
|
Daniel
Romanchuk |
USA |
18:00 |
|
Josh
Cassidy |
CAN |
18:52 |
|
Brian
Siemann |
USA |
20:00 |
|
James
Senbeta |
USA |
20:05 |
|
Rafael
Botello Jiminez |
ESP |
20:10 |
|
Hermin
Garic |
USA |
20:51 |
|
Wyatt
Bruce Willand |
USA |
20:53 |
|
Aidan
Gravelle |
USA |
20:54 |
|
Valera
"Jacob" Allen |
USA |
20:58 |
|
Evan
Correll |
USA |
22:26 |
|
Geert
Schipper |
NED |
23:01 |
|
Dustin
Stallberg |
USA |
21:43 |
|
Miguel
Jimenez Vergara |
USA |
21:48 |
|
Peyton
Gunnarson |
USA |
21:50 |
|
Colby
Higgins |
USA |
22:05 |
|
Laurens
Molina |
CRC |
22:19 |
|
Jason
Robinson |
USA |
23:08 |
|
Phillip
Croft |
USA |
24:00 |
|
Pedro
Gandarilla Fernandez |
MEX |
24:00 |
|
Matthew
Porterfield |
USA |
24:59 |
|
Brad
Smith |
USA |
27:05 |
|
Grant
Pierce |
USA |
|
Women's Open Division
|
Emmaculate
Anyango |
KEN |
28:57 |
|
Jesca
Chelangat |
KEN |
30:01 |
|
Cintia
Chepngeno |
KEN |
30:08 |
|
Vicoty
Chepngeno |
KEN |
30:14 |
|
Irine
Cheptai |
KEN |
30:16 |
|
Grace
Loibach |
KEN |
30:27 |
|
Stacy
Ndiwa |
KEN |
31:01 |
|
Cynthia
Limo |
KEN |
31:27 |
|
Sarah
Naibei |
KEN
|
31:29 |
|
Risper
Biyaki |
MEX |
31:43 |
|
Mestawut
Fikir |
ETH |
31:45 |
|
Vibian
Chepkurui |
KEN |
32:11 |
|
Aynadis
Mebrit |
ETH |
32:34 |
|
Tristan
Van Ord |
USA |
32:34 |
|
Atsede
Bayisa |
ETH |
32:40 |
|
Jessie
Cardin |
USA |
32:49 |
|
Susanna
Sullivan |
USA |
32:50 |
|
Carrie
Verdon |
USA |
33:06 |
|
Kasanesh
Baze |
ETH
|
33:10 |
|
Laura
Labuschagne |
RSA |
33:57 |
|
Sydney
Bowman |
USA |
34:11 |
|
Katie
Munks |
USA |
34:13 |
|
Stephanie
Sherman |
USA |
34:21 |
|
Rachel
Kennedy |
USA |
35:01 |
|
Whitney
Macon |
USA
|
35:36 |
|
Erica
Weitz |
USA |
35:42 |
|
Kassie
Parker |
USA
|
Debut |
|
Jasmine
Fehr |
CAN |
Debut |
|
Marissa
Lenger |
USA |
Debut |
Women's Shepherd Center Wheelchair Division
|
Susannah
Scaroni |
USA |
21:10 |
|
Chelsea
Stein |
USA |
24:32 |
|
Jenna
Fesemyer |
USA |
24:50 |
|
Yen
Hoang |
USA |
24:53 |
|
Hannah
Babalola |
NGR |
24:55 |
|
Hannah
Dederick |
USA |
25:30 |
|
Michelle
Wheeler |
USA |
26:12 |
|
Kendall
Gretsch |
USA |
27:30 |
|
Emelia
Perry |
USA |
28:18 |
|
Veronica
Gonzalez |
MEX |
29:48 |
|
Aerelie
Jones |
USA |
30:55 |
|
Hoda
Eishorbagy |
EGY |
32:33 |
|
Linden
Williamson |
USA |
|
Elite High School Division
GIRLS
|
Name |
School |
City |
|
Kenley Adams |
Lambert HS |
Suwanee |
|
Liliana Beemer |
Evans HS |
Evans |
|
Zahara Bernal |
Pace Academy |
Atlanta |
|
Maya Davis |
Athens Academy |
Athens |
|
Aislynn Dunn |
Pope HS |
Marietta |
|
Georgy Helmers |
St. Anne-Pacelli Catholic
School |
Columbus |
|
Audrey Hotard |
Habersham Central HS |
Mt. Airy |
|
Josie Hutchinson |
Pope HS |
Marietta |
|
Maddie Jones |
Marietta HS |
Marietta |
|
Tess Krogman |
West Forsyth HS |
Cumming |
|
Emily McDonald |
Alexander HS |
Douglasville |
|
Weezie Moore |
Wesleyan School |
Peachtree Corners |
|
Mary Nesmith |
Marietta HS |
Marietta |
|
Clodagh O'Bryant |
North Hall HS |
Gainesville |
|
London Ray |
Blessed Trinity Catholic
HS |
Roswell |
|
Olivia Resnick |
Pace Academy |
Atlanta |
|
Effie Ward |
Harris County HS |
Hamilton |
|
Kennedy Wardle |
Brookwood HS |
Snellville |
BOYS
|
Ethan Bridge |
Denmark HS |
Alpharetta |
|
Aaron Brodrick |
Oconee County HS |
Watkinsville |
|
Malachi Burnett |
Creekview HS |
Canton |
|
Riley Comstock |
Harrison HS |
Kennesaw |
|
Caleb Darsey |
Bleckley County HS |
Cochran |
|
Davis Drake |
Johnson Ferry Christian
Academy |
Marietta |
|
Walker Elrod |
Grace Christian Academy |
Bainbridge |
|
Liam Hanemann |
Marist School |
Atlanta |
|
Jackson Hogsed |
Lambert HS |
Suwanee |
|
Clint Huggins |
Harrison HS |
Kennesaw |
|
Dermot Maloney |
Pope HS |
Marietta |
|
Wood Moore |
Wesleyan HS |
Peachtree Corners |
|
Jameson Pifer |
Collins Hill HS |
Suwanee |
|
Andrew Stricklin |
Marist School |
Atlanta |
|
Kristopher Strong |
Stockbridge HS |
Stockbridge |
|
Alexander Thompson |
Brookwood HS |
Snellville |
|
Wyatt Windham |
Lumpkin County HS |
Dahlonega |
|
Ben Winn |
South Forsyth HS |
Cumming |
|
Bryant Young |
North Hall High School |
Gainesville |
