American Daniel Romanchuk won the men’s wheelchair division race Tuesday at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race, and American Susannah Scaroni won the women’s race. The wheelchair division was the first race at the event Tuesday.
Romanchuk won with a time of 19:30 and Scaroni a time of 22:11. Romanchuk crossed the line at 6:44 a.m., while Scaroni crossed at 6:48.
Both Scaroni and Romanchuk successfully defended their titles from 2022. Both own the course record at the AJC Peachtree Road Race, although neither bettered their times this year.
Romanchuk’s victory was his sixth consecutive win in the race and sixth overall. His victory tied him with Craig Blanchette for the most open division wins in AJC Peachtree Road Race history. Romanchuk, 24, first participated in the race in 2017 after winning the Junior Peachtree in 2016.
His win was comfortable, as he finished 30 seconds ahead of Aaron Pike in second. Canadian Joshua Cassidy finished in third.
With his dominance in the event, one might think all this winning would get boring. Romanchuk disagrees.
“Never,” Romanchuk said. “It’s on my calendar every year,and I’ll always be back.”
Tying Blanchette is a mark Romanchuk is proud of. Blanchette is a legend in the wheelchair racing community, having won multiple world championships and representing the U.S. in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
“It’s really special to be in the company of such a wheelchair great,” Romanchuk said.
Credit: Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com
Credit: Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com
Scaroni, 32, is a third-time champ, defending her title from 2022.
“It feels great,” Scaroni said. “It’s always special to get to be here.”
Scaroni was one of the oldest of the 14 women competing, yet she also is the most accomplished. She won gold in the 5,000 meters at the 2020 Paralympic Games, and she has recorded victories in the world’s top marathons. She is the reigning champion at the Boston, New York City and Chicago marathons.
“Now that I’m getting a little older, it’s great to be a role model for some of the other athletes,” Scaroni said. “Another win here is really special.”
There were 62 racers in the wheelchair division this year, including participants from eight countries. Canada, Costa Rica, Ghana, Mexico, Spain and Venezuela were represented. Colombian Luis Sanclemente finished in fourth.
The AJC Peachtree Road Race is the world’s largest 10K race. Over 50,000 people were expected to compete this year.
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