Ridiculous: Boston Marathon will now give 31% of it's prize money to wheelchair athletes - That's $313,500!!

How much is the non binary prize money?

The overall prize fund increases by $121,000 in 2023 to a round million in 2024. Some of that increase, naturally, is partitioned to the para division.

I am curious why you think it's such a bad thing for wheelchair athletes to win significant prize money?

Let me guess, you want Jock Semple back to take charge of things?

Dayum! Would it be acceptable for me to take up wheeling (fully identifying as a wheeler) even if I can walk and run? If not, why not?

This is woke that is woke anything I don't like is woke!

I fixed your post to reflect you feelings, Karen.

baa.org

Wheelchair Division | Boston Athletic Association

Open link

No, you must have a certified classification in one of the para categories to qualify.

They can pay the wheeled competitors whatever they want but the open categories are much more competitive.

It appears that the prize pool in the open categories hasn't increased since at least 2018. Perhaps offset by more getting appearance money?

Next year will be the US Olympic trials 10 weeks before Boston. It will be interesting to see how many American elites will be showing up ready to race.

That will undoubtedly change once all this gender stuff is settled one way or another and progressives need to create a new fight to prolong the culture war. There is already a small "trans-abled" movement of people who use wheelchairs despite being able to walk.

So what? They're still giving out 2 1/2 times as much prize money to the runners, and the winners get almost four times as much ($150,000). Plus the top runners get appearance fees.

I imagine being a wheelchair racer and traveling to races is expensive without a lot of sponsorship opportunities, this helps defray some of their costs. Even if they can race more frequently than marathon runners, it doesn't matter much since there are very few races that offer good wheelchair prize money. And it's not like marathoners are only doing two races a rear, they do lots of road races in between where they can pick up easy money and more appearance fees.

Makes sense, the tv coverage follows the wheelchairs more than the running race.

Wheelchair athletes are much faster than the runners...they should get more money. Better athletes!

TV coverage is horrible for the actual Marathon runners. Wheelchair racers are incredible athletes but should be at a cycling venue not a running venue. Another point is that the Wheelchair elite athletes can race back to back weekends whereas an elite Marathon runner cannot.... unless you are Yuki Kawauchi

I agree that it is not fair, but if they do that, then they find money for it. It's sad that they don't always find it for athletes.

Its not a bad thing for them to win big prize money. Its a bad thing for it to come out of marathon pots or even for the wheelchair race to be held with the marathon at all. I think the best solution if it must be held with the marathon since they couldn't even get enough support for the few wheelers to have a race would be for the wheelchair prize money to come exclusively from wheelchair entrants. No wheelchair money would go to the runners in this model.