M25-29 at Peachtree: Kiprop Seizes the Title in a Three-Way Sprint

• Patrick Kiptoo Kiprop wins in 27:37 (4:27/mi), edging Nicholas Kipkorir by 3 seconds and Alex Matata by 11 in one of the tightest top-three finishes in a 2,846-man field.
• Kiprop's second half was decisive: he posted the fastest second-half split among all men, surging from 3rd to 1st in the closing miles after bouncing around the top of the leaderboard all race.
• Matata's mid-race charge: running the 2nd-fastest 2M→3M split among the men, he climbed from 9th to 2nd — but couldn't hold it, fading to 4th on the men's board before finishing 3rd overall in M25-29 at 27:48.
• William Amponsah and Victor Shitsama rounded out the top five at 28:23 and 28:24 respectively — separated by just one second across 6.2 miles.

The M25-29 race at the 2026 Peachtree Road Race was a genuine thriller at the front. Patrick Kiptoo Kiprop (26) didn't lead wire-to-wire — far from it. He was as high as 2nd and as low as 3rd in the men's standings at various checkpoints, and the race looked genuinely open heading into the back half. Then Kiprop hit the second half and simply ran away from everyone, posting the fastest second-half split among all the men en route to his 27:37 winning time.

Nicholas Kipkorir (27) gave chase and nearly had him, finishing just 3 seconds back at 27:40 — a margin that felt slim but was never truly in doubt once Kiprop found his gear. Kipkorir's own story was a comeback: he'd slipped as far back as 8th in the men's standings at the first mile marker before grinding his way back to 2nd, including a 2nd-fastest 3M→4M split among the men that fueled his recovery. Alex Matata (28) made the most dramatic mid-race move of the three, vaulting from 9th to 2nd on the strength of the 2nd-fastest 2M→3M split in the men's field — but the final miles caught up with him and he settled for 3rd in 27:48.

Behind the podium, the battle for 4th and 5th was as close as anything in the race. William Amponsah (26) and Victor Shitsama (27) were separated by a single second — 28:23 to 28:24 — after 6.2 miles of racing in Atlanta's warm, humid morning air. Wesley Kiptoo (26, Bellemont, AZ) came home 6th in 28:40, with Hillary Kipkoech, Tesfu Tewelde, Ryan Ford, and Haftu Knight filling out the top ten between 28:59 and 29:33.