June 7, 2019 -- ATLANTA - The world's largest 10K now includes some of the world's best jumpers, as American Olympians Keturah Orji and Sandi Morris will chase big marks at the Peachtree Health & Fitness Expo. To be held on a custom-built runway inside the Georgia World Congress Center on July 2 and 3, Orji and Morris will triple jump and pole vault, respectively, in a USATF-sanctioned competition.
Atlanta Track Club unveiled the plans for the competition last night at the 55th edition of the POWERADE All-Metro Track & Field Banquet, which honors the metro Atlanta area's top track & field athletes each spring. Orji, an eight-time NCAA Champion in the Triple Jump, the 2019 USATF National Indoor Champion and part of the Club's Elite team, attended the banquet to congratulate the honorees and announce her plans to compete. Morris, a silver medalist in Rio, the American record holder and the 2018 IAAF World Champion announced her entry via a pre-recorded video shown at the event.
"When I signed with Atlanta Track Club, I didn't think the AJC Peachtree Road Race would be on my schedule," said Orji. "I jumped at the chance to be part of a triple jump competition at the Peachtree Health & Fitness Expo and I'm looking forward to getting the crowd involved."
"I am excited to be part of a new chapter in the history of the world's largest 10K," said Morris. "I look forward to putting on a great pole vault show and hopefully help recruit some new fans of track and field."
More than a dozen elite athletes will hop, skip and jump over two days at the Expo. Orji will compete in the women's Triple Jump will on July 2 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., while Morris will vault on July 3 in the women's Pole Vault from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. The men's Pole Vault will precede the women's on July 3, from 11:30 to 1:00 p.m.
At the conclusion of the event, Atlanta Track Club will donate the more than six tons of sand required to build the sandpit, and the pole vault landing pad to Atlanta Public Schools, with the landing pad going to Maynard-Jackson High School and the sand split between Coretta Scott King and B.E.S.T. Academy and Lakewood Stadium.
"Though we call this Running City USA, we're ready to also welcome some of the world's top field athletes to Atlanta ahead of the 50th Running of the Peachtree, and excited to see records being chased both on and off the roads this July," Atlanta Track Club's Executive Director, Rich Kenah, said. "We look forward to showcasing these jumpers to the participants in the world's largest 10K, and to providing the much needed equipment to Atlanta Public Schools."