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The organizers of the London Marathon significantly increased the global allocation of the wheelchair category to establish parity in prizes with athletes without motor disabilities, they announced this Thursday.
Starting with the 2024 edition, scheduled for Sunday, April 21, the British capital will host “the first marathon to offer identical prizes to wheelchair athletes and able-bodied athletes,” announced TCS, the race organizer.
The global allocation for the wheelchair category was increased from $54,500 (50,200 euros) to $308,000 (287,700 euros), he said.
Each winner in the different categories will receive $55,000. The second will pocket 30,000 and the third 22,500.
The wheelchair race was first included in London in 1983, two years after the marathon was created.
The announcement of the parity of the allocations introduced in London is “a huge reference” for competitions for the disabled, which could inspire “other races and sports organizations”, celebrated the British David Weir, eight-time champion in the British capital in the chair. wheel.
“It is often said that sport is a mirror of society, but it can also be the starting point for much more important change, and that is what the London Marathon does here,” commented Australian Madison de Rozario, last champion in the female wheelchair category.
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