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Olympians, World Champions Highlight Teams for Inaugural Peachtree CupPublished by
Olympians, World Champions Highlight Teams for Inaugural Peachtree CupPress Release ATLANTA – June 23, 2015 – Olympians, World Cross Country champions, national record-holders and former AJC Peachtree Road Race winners are among those named to the four international elite teams competing in the inaugural Peachtree Cup at the 2015 AJC Peachtree Road Race. They will join captains Shalane Flanagan, Gebre Gebremariam, Daniele Meucci, and Yusuke Hasegawa on Team USA, Team Africa, Team Europe, and Team Asia. Representing nine countries and four continents, each team will line up on July 4 determined to prove the superiority of their combination of speed, strength, and racing tactics. In the new competition, four international teams of six top athletes, including three men and three women, will race the clock and each other, vying for international bragging rights and a first-place prize of $42,000. Team members’ individual finish times will be added together, and the team with the fastest cumulative time will be declared the victor and earn the honor of being the first to have its name engraved on the Peachtree Cup trophy. Led by Shalane Flanagan (Portland, OR), a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist who holds three American records, Team USA will feature: Joining Team Africa captain Gebre Gebremariam, the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Champion and 2010 New York City Marathon winner from Ethiopia, is a roster of top stars, including: Team Europe, under the leadership of Italy’s Daniele Meucci, the 2014 European Champion in the marathon, will feature: Team Asia captain Yusuke Hasegawa of Japan will lead a young squad that hopes to use its Peachtree Cup experience, where it will be challenged by many of the top runners in the world, as a major steppingstone toward success on the international stage. The team includes: The 2015 AJC Peachtree Road Race will have a total prize purse of $98,500, with $81,000 of that amount set aside for the team competition. The remaining prize money will be awarded to individuals in the men’s and women’s open and masters races. The 46th running of the AJC Peachtree Road Race will take place on Saturday, July 4, 2015. The AJC Peachtree Road Race is the world’s largest 10K, with 60,000 participants. Additional details about the 2015 AJC Peachtree Road Race are available at peachtreeroadrace.org. About Atlanta Track Club About the AJC Peachtree Road Race About The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |