In her first Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race, Aliphine Tuliamuk won the U.S. 10K Women’s Championship with an unofficial time of 32:49.
A Santa Fe, New Mexico resident, Tuliamuk held an American flag as she celebrated her victory.
“There is nothing better than getting a flag on America’s birthday,” Tuliamuk said. “This will be the most memorable flag I have.”
After getting past the infamous “Cardiac Hill,” Tuliamuk picked up her pace and separated herself from the rest of the group. She coasted to the finish line to comfortably win.
Around the 5-mile mark, she said she began to get tired before pumping herself up to finish the race strongly.
“I’m incredibly happy right now,” Tuliamuk said. “There’s no better way of spending the Fourth of July, America’s birthday, better than this. It’s incredible. I’m so happy right now, I can’t even explain it.”
Sarah Pagano (33:01) of Boston finished runner-up, and Jordan Hasay (33:08) of Beaverton, Oregon placed third.
The U.S. title is the sixth for Tuliamuk since becoming an American citizen last year. She won the 2017 USA Cross Country Championship and placed 15th overall as the top American at the 2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. She’s a two-time USA 25K champion and won the 2016 USA 5K and 20K Championships.
Born in Kenya, Tuliamuk became the first woman from her village to graduate college when she received a degree in public health from Wichita State in 2o13. As a member of the Shockers, she earned first-team All-American honors three consecutive years from 2010-12.
Tuliamuk didn’t immediately commit to coming back to participate in the event again in 2018.
“I can’t say that now. I’m going to celebrate today,” Tuliamuk said. “But if you guys are really nice next year, I might come back.”
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