London Marathon to give equal prize money to wheelchair and able-bodied athletes
The London Marathon have announced that wheelchair and able-bodied athletes will be able to earn the same amount of prize money at this year's event in what has been described as a "huge benchmark for disability sport".
Organisers say the races for wheelchair athletes were already the most lucrative in the world, but they have now increased the total prize money on offer by $55,000 (£43,000) to match the prize pot for able-bodied athletes.
The pot stands at $308,000 (£244,000), with whoever wins the elite race banking $55,000 (£43,400). The runner-up will receive $30,000 (£23,700) and the third-place finisher will earn $22,500 (£17,800), with the rest of the prize money going to the remaining athletes who finish in the top 10.
Wheelchair racing legend David Weir, who has won the London Marathon a record eight times, hailed the move. He said: "It's a very exciting year for me and for wheelchair racing. Again, London Marathon has set the bar for parity across the racing divisions. This is a huge benchmark for disability sport and I hope other races and sporting bodies can take note."
London Marathon event director Hugh Brasher added: "We are delighted to continue our commitment to disability sport with this landmark move that ensures the prize money available to our elite wheelchair athletes is exactly the same as for those in the able-bodied elite races.
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"We have made great strides in recent years towards our ambition to make the London Marathon the most diverse and equitable marathon in the world and this is another important step towards achieving that goal."
Madison de Rozario, who is a two-time winner of the marathon and enters this year's event as the defending champion, spoke of the wider effect the decision could have on para sport and praised the London Marathon for "setting an entirely new standard".
David Weir has hailed the London Marathon's decision to create parity with the amount of prize money on offer for wheelchair and able-bodied athletes (PA)"We often say that sport is a mirror to society, but it can also be the starting point for much larger change and that's what the TCS London Marathon is doing here," she said. "This decision doesn't just affect the athletes lining up in London in April, it has an overflow effect to not just how every other event values athletes with a disability, but how we view the 15 per cent of the global population living with disability.
"Sport has an enormous responsibility to community and the TCS London Marathon is at the forefront of doing that justice. It is setting an entirely new standard and I can’t wait to see what that means for para sport going forward.
"Knowing that a generation of wheelchair racers are going to get to come into a sport and never question their value or their place is beautiful."
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