Course Record Attempts on Tap for the Fourth of July

ATLANTA - June 21, 2022 - Four men with personal bests within 13 seconds of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Road Race course record will battle to break that mark this year, while the Shepherd Center Wheelchair Division features a showdown between two of the best racers in history. All will be aiming to earn up to $53,000 in bonus prize money in honor of the 53rd Running of the Fourth of July 10K..

The Wheelchair division features the return of event record-holder and defending champion Daniel Romanchuk, who won the 2019 Peachtree in 18:11. Romanchuk, who won the gold medal at 400 meters and bronze in the marathon at the Tokyo Paralympics, is seeking his sixth Peachtree victory, going back to his 2016 win in the Junior Peachtree.

"I would do everything that I could to not miss this race," said Romanchuk, who won the Boston Marathon in April. "I think there is a good chance the men's record could be broken this year."

Romanchuk will face a familiar opponent in Marcel Hug of Switzerland. The six-time Paralympic gold medalist was runner-up to Romanchuk in 2019. Hug is the current world record-holder in the 5000m and the marathon.

Other top contenders in the race include Josh Cassidy of Canada, winner of the 2010 and 2013 Peachtree, and five-time Paralympian Aaron Pike.

The men's footrace record of 27:01 set in 2019 by Rhonex Kipruto is not just the Peachtree record, but the fastest 10K road race ever run under any conditions in the United States. Goeffrey Koech of Kenya, who has run 27:02, and Kirpruto's younger brother, Bravin Kiptoo, who ran 27:12 to take second in 2019, are among this year's top contenders.

Fellow Kenyan Mathew Kimeli, who has run 27:07, and Tsegay Kidanu of Ethiopia, who has run 27:14, are also within reach of the record. Other international athletes in the field include Jemal Yimer of Ethiopia, whose 10,000 meter track personal best is 26:54, and Nicholas Kosimbei of Kenya, who shattered the Georgia all-comers record earlier this year when he won the Publix Atlanta Half Marathon in 1:00:37 despite heavy winds and driving rain. Patrick Tiernan, the 2016 NCAA Cross Country Champion, will make his road 10K debut. Tiernan has represented Australia at the last two Olympic games.

The Americans are led by defending Peachtree champion Sam Chelanga. For the Army first Lieutenant, who says he's soon to be promoted to captain, victory is icing - albeit really good icing - on the cake of being in Running City USA on Independence Day. "Atlanta is just one of those places I want to come to," said Chelanga, who has family in Atlanta and Buford. "For the race, for the great people and for the Fourth of July."

Fan favorite Abdi Abdirahman will return to Atlanta to compete in his ninth Peachtree. The five-time Olympian made his Peachtree debut in 2007 and holds the third-fastest time ever run by an American (28:11) at the race.

Other Americans include 2021 USA Half Marathon Champion Conner Mantz, who will make his 10K road debut; Olympian and reigning USA Cross Country Champion Shadrack Kipchirchir; and 2017 Peachtree Champion Leonard Korir, who won the Bolder Boulder 10K in May.

The $53,000 (for the 53rd Running) event record bonus is offered to winners of the men's and women's open divisions and men's and women's Shepherd Center Wheelchair divisions. If only one athlete sets a record, he or she will take home the full amount; if more than one does so, the bonus will be divided equally.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race will be held on Monday, July 4, 2022. The race begins at Atlanta's Lenox Square and ends at Piedmont Park. It will be broadcast locally on WXIA-11Alive and streamed nationally at 11alive.com.

Elite Footrace Field

First Name	Last Name	Road `10K Personal Best	Country/U.S. Residence
Geoffrey	Koech	27:02	KEN
Mathew	Kimeli	27:07	KEN
Bravin	Kipkogei Kiptoo	27:12	KEN
Tsegay	Kidanu	27:14	ETH
Geoffrey	Kipchumba	27:41	Colorado Springs, CO
Leonard	Barsoton	27:42	KEN
Benard	Ngeno	27:44	KEN
Nicholas	Kosimbei	27:52	KEN
Jemal	Yimer	27:54	ETH
Hamid	Ben Daoud	28:07	ESP
David	Bett	28:08	KEN
Dominic	Korir	28:08	KEN
Leonard	Korir	28:09	Colorado Springs, CO
Sam	Chelenga	28:11	Colorado Springs, CO
Abdi	Abdirahman	28:11	Tucson, AZ
Shadrack	Kipchirchir	28:12	Colorado Springs, CO
Joseph	Panga	28:14	TAN
Biya	Simbassa	28:39	Flagstaff, AZ
Mark	Lomuket	28:46	KEN
Kirubel	Erassa	28:54	Colorado Springs, CO
Shadrack	Kimining	29:16	KEN
Jason	Weitzel	29:22	Greenville, SC
Robert	Stone	29:36	Short Hills, NJ
Matt	McDonald	29:38	Boston, MA
Matt	Baxter	30:22	NZL
Ian	Butler	30:33	Lakewood, CO
Patrick	Tiernan	DEBUT	AUS
Fabiano	Sulle	DEBUT	TAN
Conner	Mantz	DEBUT	Provo, UT
Stanley	Kebenei	DEBUT	Colorado Springs, CO
Chris	May	DEBUT	Atlanta, GA
Robert	Desisto	DEBUT	Atlanta, GA

Shepherd Center Wheelchair Division

First Name	Last Name	Road `10K Personal Best	Country/U.S. Residence
Daniel	Romanchuck	18:11	Champaign, IL
Marcel	Hug	18:32	SUI
Josh	Cassidy	18:53	CAN
Aaron	Pike	19:00	Champaign, IL
Alexandre	Dupont	20:04	CAN
Raphael	Botello Jiminez	20:10	ESP
James	Senbeta	21:01	Chicago, IL
Alphonso	Zagarosa	21:04	MEX
Luis	Sanclemente	21:10	COL
Hermin	Garic	21:39	Utica, NY
Valera "Jacob"	Allen	22:00	Kingwood, TX
Colby	Higgins	22:05	Atlanta, GA
Chad	Johnson	22:45	Corydon, IN
Dustin	Stallberg	22:49	Tucson, AZ
Jason	Robinson	23:08	Rome, NY
Brian	Seimann	23:00	Savoy, IL
Peyton	Gunnarson	23:45	Tucson, AZ
Adam	Smeenk	24:00	CAN
Isiah	Christophe	24:00	CAN
Evan	Correll	24:00	Waukee, IA
Phillip	Croft	24:00	Champaign, IL
Jose	Pulido	24:22	Clarksville, GA
Matthew	Potterfield	24:59	Knoxville, TN
Wes	Bergin	25:00	Palm Harbor, FL
Juan	Pablo	25:01	MEX
Brad	Smith	27:05	Atlanta, GA