ATLANTA (AP) — Sammy Kitwara of Kenya won the 40th Peachtree Road Race with a time of 27:21 in his debut in the annual 6.2-mile event through the streets of Atlanta.

Ridouane Harroufi of Morocco was second, and Ethiopia’s Gashu Ibrahim Jeilan third.

Abdi Abdirahman of Tucson, Ariz., captured his third straight USA Men’s 10-kilometer championship in the race Saturday, holding off Anthony Famiglietti in the final mile. Abdirahman, a three-time Olympian, finished in sixth place overall in the international field with a time of 28:11. Famiglietti wound up eighth, four seconds behind Abdirahman.

The top seed in the women’s field, Lineth Chepkurui of Kenya, won her first Peachtree race, while Switzerland’s Marcel Hug and Edith Hunkeler swept the wheelchair divisions.

Hunkeler, a five-time Peachtree winner, defended her title with a course-record 23:09.98, surpassing the previous mark of 23:11.

About 55,000 runners took part in the race, which started with temperatures in the lows 70s and very little humidity. Results won’t be made official until Monday because of a protest against fourth-place finisher Tadese Tola of Ethiopia. Another of the top-10 finishers said Tola elbowed him as they approached the finish line.

Abdirahman picked up $10,000 for winning the USA 10-kilometer championship. This was fifth stop for the men on the 2009 USA Running Circuit, a USA Track and Field road series that features championships ranging from one mile to the marathon and attracts elite U.S. distance runners.

Famiglietti leads the men’s side with 27 points, while Magdalena Boulet currently tops the women’s list with 27 points.

There are 10 events each in the series for the men and women.

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