Video shows Olympic runner taking the wrong turn just before the finish line, costing her the win and thousands in prize money

Sophia Ankel
Updated ·2 min read
4
Senbere Teferi
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

  • An Olympic runner was winning the elite division of the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta on Tuesday.

  • But just before the finish line, Senbere Teferi took the wrong turn, costing her the win.

  • Teferi lost out on the winner's prize of $10,000, winning only $3,000 instead.

A video shows the moment an Olympic runner took the wrong turn just before the finish line of a 10-kilometer race in Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday, costing her the win and thousands in prize money.

Senbere Teferi, of Ethiopia, was winning the women's elite division of the Peachtree Road Race when she accidentally ran off course around 150 meters in front of the finish line, the director of the race, Rich Kenah, told CNN.

Teferi appeared to have a "momentary lapse in judgment," Kenah said, adding: "She saw a police motorcycle turning off to the right, and when you're in that kind of battle competitively, I think your instincts just take over and she took that right-hand turn."

"And she came off course and she just didn't have enough time to recover to get back to first place," he added.

You can watch the moment here:

 

The mistake cost Teferi four seconds and resulted in a third-place win. She also only received $3,000 in prize money instead of the $10,000 given to the race winner.

In a statement published on social media, the AJC Peachtree Road Races said Teferi "was within sight of the finish banner, but we understand that in the heat of competition, instructions can be misinterpreted. As an organization, we are disappointed whenever we fall short of perfection, and in this case, it appears we did."

Teferi has not yet publicly commented on her mistake. She did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The winner of the race, Fotyen Tesfay — also of Ethiopia — said that she was "really upset" by Teferi's error "because she was in the front and she was leading," CNN reported.

"I saw the finish line. At first, I thought they didn't really show us that well yesterday where the finish was," Tesfay said, according to CNN. "But after I saw that car turn, I saw the finish sign in front of me, so I pushed ahead. But I was really upset because I really planned to stick with Senbere at the finish."

Tesfay's time was 30 minutes, 43 seconds, according to the online results. Teferi ended up four seconds behind Tesfay, CNN reported.

Teferi is an Ethiopian professional middle- and long-distance runner who has previously competed in the Olympics.

Read the original article on Insider