Atlanta,
05
July
2012
|
00:00 AM
America/New_York

Top Athletes Compete in Atlanta’s Wheelchair Division of the Peachtree Road Race

ATLANTA -- Thousands of spectators turned out to watch this year’s Wheelchair Division of the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta. The annual 10K race was held July 4 and drew 78 wheelchair athletes from eight countries.

This year, Tatyana McFadden of Champaign, Ill., won the women’s open division with a first-place finishing time of 23:53. She also won the 2010 and 2011 races. She will compete in the Paralympic Games later this summer. In the men’s open, Aaron Gordian of Mexico took the crown to win with a finishing time of 19:52. At age 46, he became the oldest person to ever win the race.

Second and third place finishers in the Women's Open were Diane Roy of Canada with a time of 24:37 and Manuela Schar of Switzerland with a time of 25:32. Second and third place finishers in the Men's Open were Josh George of Champaign, Ill., with a time of 20:22 and Aaron Pike of Savoy, Ill., with a time of 20:24.

In the Open Quad division, the top three finishers were:  Santiago Sanz of Spain at 25:19; Bryan Kirkland of Leeds, Ala., at 29:54; Josh Roberts of Birmingham, Ala., at 32:58.

In the T-1 Quad division, the top two finishers were:  Scott Stokes of Atlanta at 49:04; and Jimbo Boyd of Alpharetta, Ga., at 1:00:53.

In the Masters division, the top three finishers were:  Jeff Fisher of Medina, Ohio, at 23:30; Ramiro Bermudez of Colombia, Texas, at 23:33; and Don Dowling of St. Charles, Mo., at 25:44.

In the Junior division, the top finisher was Sean Burns of Matthews, N.C., with a time of 32:22.

The 6.2-mile competition began on Lenox Road in the heart of Buckhead, Atlanta’s shopping district, and followed Peachtree Road for six miles before slicing through the heart of Midtown to the finish line at 10th Street and Piedmont Park. The race is the one of the largest and fastest wheelchair 10Ks in the country.

The top finishers in each division received peach-shaped crystalline trophies in a ceremony at Piedmont Park, while cash prizes totaling $35,000 were doled out at a post-race brunch at Shepherd Center, which organizes the race. Numerous Shepherd volunteers and staff members coordinated race logistics, including reviewing applications, orchestrating the start and finish, monitoring the times and overseeing the needs of the athletes. 

BB&T and Shepherd Center’s Junior Committee were presenting sponsors, providing pre-and post-race brunches, defraying travel and lodging expenses for racers, and awarding cash prizes to winners.

 

About Shepherd Center

Shepherd Center provides world-class clinical care, research, and family support for people experiencing the most complex conditions, including spinal cord and brain injuries, multi-trauma, traumatic amputations, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and pain. An elite center recognized as both Spinal Cord Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems, Shepherd Center is ranked by U.S. News as one of the nation’s top hospitals for rehabilitation. Shepherd Center treats thousands of patients annually with unmatched expertise and unwavering compassion to help them begin again.