London marathon will offer wheelchair races the same prize money as able-bodied racers

Can an able-bodied person compete in the wheelchair race?

Serious question. You have men competing against the women in all sports now. Can an able-bodied person compete in a wheelchair in the wheelchair division?

That's an interesting question. How would organizers know if someone entering the wheelchair division wasn't really disabled? I've never heard of races requiring any sort of documentation or proof of a disability.

But why would an able bodied person want to enter the wheelchair division? Yes, they'd not need to beat nearly as many competitiors to finish in the money. But unlike people who use wheelchairs all the time, they wouldn't be at all adapted to using one. I actually know of a runner who experimented with racing in a wheelchair as an experiment. He was awful and said it was terribly hard.

Why does this bother you? They didn't reduce the prize money for the overall male and female finishers - they just made the wheelchair prize money equal.

If it gets to the point where races that do this are offering less money to runners than other runners, then it'll be easier for other races to become the premier race pulling in the fastest runners since it'll be easier to offer the most money to runners. As long as a race has enough money to pay runners top level pay as well as wheel chair athletes then it doesn't really matter.

Let's be honest. Does anybody care about the wheelchair race?

For London wheelchair athletes must have documentation for their classification:

tcslondonmarathon.com

Elite Wheelchair Entry

Elite Wheelchair Entry

Open link

So yes, organizers would know if an able bodied person tried to enter the wheelchair race. Races like Boston and London require documented proof. I am a below knee amputee runner, which is why I know about this.

they will prob get stabbed in london

They should make appearance fees public. The general public would have more respect for the sport if they knew runners were getting paid to show up.

Thanks for that.

I agree. I've always heard that the reason the amount of the fees are kept quiet because organizers don't want athletes knowing they aren't getting as much as someone else who is no better than they are.

Wait this triggers you?

Definition of disabled:
(of a person) having a physical or mental condition that limits movements, senses, or activities:

Someone could claim to be terrified of running in streets. A doctor could say he is disabled. Do they make stationary wheelchairs? Someone could just sit at home training in that instead of a bike or elliptical.

There are rollers, similar to stationary trainers for bicycles, that the race chair can be used indoors. A great tool for working on cadence and stroke form.

@what's the problem? will you be at Mt Sac in March? good to see other para athletes and fans posting here.

I actually think this is great. My only problem is that they hold the races on the same day and try to cover them both with the same announcers. I realize closing streets is tough, but why not create some really good wheelchair races and give them a decent platform. It is a different sport. We should be honoring these athletes. I just think it is weird that they kinda-sorta get lumped in with the runners. Again, a different sport and worthy of it's own races. They shouldn't be treated like broken runners.

Y'all love to complain about 'virtue signaling' but you don't even know what it means. Is offering a men's prize purse virtue signaling? If yes, explain how. If no, explain how this is different. Like just come out and say you don't like people in wheelchairs and orgs that support them. Stop hiding behind some catchphrase.

It is wrong to pay them the same amount of money. Yes this is woke. Most people do not watch the wheelchair races.

Anyone else make a connection between this cringe decision (if one takes a view that the allocation of prize money should bear some relation to the depth of competition competing for the money across the sport) and why the depth below the Top 3-5 men in Seville and valencia in the able bodied races pi*&es all over London and I suspect will do so even more in future?

There was a popular wheelchair athlete in our local running club some years back who recruited several non-disabled runners to compete in wheelchairs in a local 5K, with minimal training. They found it terribly difficult and left with a lot more respect for wheelchair athletes. The top wheelchair competitors at a race like London are awfully good, and an "able-bodied" person would have to commit to training almost exclusively with the wheelchair in order to have a chance of being competitive.