The Peachtree Road Race lost favorite John Korir on Friday. Twice.

First, race organizers received word that Korir, the top-seeded Kenyan who was trying to become the first runner to win the Triple Crown of Road Racing, had been tripped up by visa problems. In a repeat of his thwarted Triple Crown attempt in 2003, Korir, the 2001 champion and 2004 runner-up, is stuck in Kenya and will not toe the starting line for Monday's 10-kilometer race.

BEN GRAY /AJC (ENLARGE)
The 2001 champion, John Korir of Kenya, won't be defending because of visa problems.
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The top seed then became . . . John Korir. He's another Kenyan and two-time Olympian distinguished by his middle name "Cheruiyot." But this Korir's agents admitted later Friday they couldn't find him and he would not be catching a plane to Atlanta.

"He decided it was too expensive, got in his car and started driving home to his village," said Elizabeth Unislawski, Peachtree's elite athlete liaison. "They couldn't reach him. There weren't enough cell towers."

That left Kenya's Robert Cheruiyot, the 2003 Peachtree champion, as the top-seeded male runner.

"He's on a plane right now from Nairobi," said Unislawski, relief evident in her voice.

Like the first Korir, the only tape two-time defending women's champion Susan Chepkemei of Kenya hit was red tape.

"We've had a rash of injury, travel and visa issues that have really limited what we thought was going to be a great field," elite athletes coordinator John Curtin said. "John had a chance to make some history here."

Unislawski also received e-mails earlier this week from two agents representing nine invited Kenyan athletes whose visas did not come through.

"Our depth of field is the deepest of any 10K in the world," said race director Julia Emmons. "Unlike most races, if we lose 11, we've still got 70, so it isn't the end of the world."

The Peachtree Road Race enlisted Sen. Saxby Chambliss's office to try to persuade U.S. immigration authorities to grant permission for Korir's visa.

Korir's agent, Tom Ratcliffe, had been in touch by e-mail with the American Embassy general consul in Nairobi. He paid $1,000 earlier this week to expedite the visa — with no luck. In hindsight, Ratcliffe said he should have paid the $1,000 fee earlier, but he thought applying for the visa on May 2 was early enough.

Korir, 29, showed up at the American Embassy at 6 a.m. Friday morning to be sure he was on time for his interview. Then he ran into a brick wall.

If Korir, who owns a farm in Kenya, had won Peachtree, he would have earned $30,000 — $15,000 for winning Peachtree, plus the $15,000 bonus for the Triple Crown, which also includes the Cherry Blossom in Washington, D.C., and Lilac Bloomsday in Spokane, Wash.

The holdup had to do with the kind of visa Korir sought. Instead of the "B," or tourist visa, Korir applied for a "P," which is given to professional athletes. But the rejection letter said there wasn't enough time to process the request. The embassy also refused to issue a "B" visa for the short term because Korir was such a successful athlete.

"We had plenty of time; I don't know why it's taken that long," said Ratcliffe, who is based in Boston. "It's impossible to get an answer from anyone."

"The American Embassy is making it very tough for the athletes to get their visa," said Lornah Kiplagat, the top-seeded female runner and a Kenya native who now runs for the Netherlands.

"Those athletes are not joggers. I think it's completely not fair because it's somebody's career, it's somebody's job. What can be the reason to block John Korir?"

Kiplagat, 31, a three-time Peachtree champion, said for many years athletes from Kenya have competed in the United States and then returned home instead of trying to stay in the United States illegally.

"That shows how obedient the athletes are," said Kiplagat. "They are doing what is in the rules, but if they do that, they're asking for problems."