Just 150 meters from the finish line in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park, defending champion Senbere Teferi was set to win the 2023 Peachtree Road Race yesterday. Instead, she took a wrong turn and had to double back, losing time, and dropping to third place, finishing the 10K in 30:47, four full seconds behind the winner, Ethiopia’s Fotyen Tesfay (30:43). The navigational error cost Teferi the $10,000 prize money awarded to the race’s champion. She walked away with $3,000.
In an interview with CNN, race director Rich Kenah explained what went wrong in those crucial moments. A video of the elite women’s race shows Teferi following a police motorcycle that turned off to the right.
“A momentary lapse, as I look at the video, in judgment, if you will,” Kenah said. “When you’re in that kind of battle,” he continued, “competitively, I think your instincts just take over and she took that right hand turn, and she came off course, and she just didn’t have enough time to recover to come back to first place.”
Tesfay expressed disappointment on Teferi’s behalf, recounting to The News how she’d been determined to stick with Teferi during the final stretch, but adjusted her kick strategy when she noticed her compatriot’s error.
“I saw the finish line,” the 25-year-old told CNN. “At first, I thought they didn’t really show us that well yesterday where the finish was, but after I saw that car turn, I saw the finish sign in front of me, so I pushed ahead. But I was really upset because I really planned to stick with Senbere at the finish.”
Before she veered off course, Teferi had a 10-second lead on the competition, and was poised for another victory, on the heels of her win at the women’s only New York Mini 10K last month. Tesfay was part of a four-woman lead pack which ran the first 5K in 14:59. Along with Teferi and the second place finisher, Jesca Chelangat (30:45) of Kenya, another Kenyan, Dorcas Tuitoek was temporarily with the leaders. By the 8K mark, it was just Tesfay, Teferi, and Chelangat, with Teferi leading assertively until that fateful wrong turn.
The men’s race had a dramatic finish, too, with the top three men all finishing with the same time of 27:43; the first time that’s happened in the race’s 53-year history. Champion Charles Langat won by a mere stride, with last year’s winner Gabriel Geay and Nibret Melak right on his heels.
Abby Carney is a writer and journalist in New York. A former D1 college runner and current amateur track athlete, she's written about culture and characters in running and outdoor sports for Runner's World, Like the Wind Magazine, The New York Times, and other outlets. She also writes about things that have nothing to do with running, and was previously the editor of a food magazine.
