Costly Mistake: Elite Runner Takes Wrong Turn, Loses Big
A wrong turn just before the finish line of the 10-kilometer Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta on Monday cost Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi the championship and thousands of dollars in prize money.
Agonizing video shows the 2022 champion appearing to follow a police motorcycle and running off the course.
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Teferi’s compatriot Fotyen Tesfay ended up winning.
Watch the video here:
During the women's elite division of the Peachtree Road Race, a 10-kilometer race held annually in Atlanta on July 4, one runner took a wrong turn just before the finish line, costing her the win pic.twitter.com/qRs9Umk19y — CNN (@CNN) July 4, 2023
Tefeir came back onto the course and finished third.
She won $3,000 rather than the $10,000 prize for first place.
In a statement, the AJC Peachtree Road Race said it looked like Teferi “momentarily became confused and followed a police motorcycle when it turned off the course.”
As our defending champion, Senbere Teferi, was approaching the finish line, it looks like she momentarily became confused and followed a police motorcycle when it turned off the course. (1/2) — AJC Peachtree Road Race (@ajcprr) July 4, 2023
“She was within sight of the finish banner, but we understand that in the heat of competition instructions can be misinterpreted,” it added. “As an organization, we are disappointed whenever we fall short of perfection, and in this case, it appears we did.”
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Source: HuffPost
