In a significant and historic moment for disability sport, the TCS London Marathon has become the first marathon in the world to make its prize money for wheelchair and able-bodied athletes exactly the same.
The TCS London Marathon wheelchair races were already the richest in the world, but a further increase of $54,500 to the prize money in 2024 means the total prize pot stands at $308,000, creating parity with the able-bodied athletes
This means that all winners in the elite races of the 2024 TCS London Marathon on Sunday 21 April will receive $55,000, with the runner-up earning $30,000 and third-place $22,500.
Hugh Brasher, Event Director of the TCS London Marathon, said: “We are proud of our history in championing participants with disabilities, from introducing our first wheelchair race in 1983 to hosting the IPC World Championships on multiple occasions and providing a pathway from the Mini London Marathon to the London Marathon and beyond for Paralympic legends such as David Weir.
“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. We have made great strides in recent years towards our ambition to make the TCS London Marathon the most diverse and equitable marathon in the world and this is another important step towards achieving that goal.”
The news has been described as a huge moment for fairness and equality in disability sport by Activity Alliance, the national charity for disabled people in sport and activity.
Adam Blaze, Chief Executive Officer at Activity Alliance, said: “As the leading voice for disabled people in sport and activity, we strive for everyone to have fair access to opportunities. To see the TCS London Marathon lead the way and create equal prize money is a huge positive step in making sports and physical activity fairer.
“For many years we have supported the wheelchair athletes’ race through our events team and watched many mini marathoners turn into elite superstars. We are extremely proud to have seen it develop into the superb competition it is today.”
British wheelchair racing legend David Weir will be racing his 25th consecutive London Marathon this year after graduating from the Mini London Marathon races. He is the most decorated athlete in the event’s history with a total of eight wins and says London’s move to creating parity in the elite race prize pots is something he hopes other events can follow.
Weir 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.”
Weir will be racing the undisputed number one wheelchair racer in the world at the 2024 TCS London Marathon in the shape of Marcel Hug (SUI).
Hug became the first man to win all six Abbott World Marathon Majors in a single season last year and will be looking for his fourth straight win in London.
Hug said: “I am so excited that the London Marathon is leading by example with equal prize money and showing they are not just talking about equality but also demonstrating it.”
Other leading names in the men’s wheelchair race are Daniel Romanchuk (USA) and Jetze Plat (NED) who was third in last November’s TCS New York City Marathon.
In the women’s field for the 2024 TCS London Marathon are the past four winners of the event: Madison de Rozario (AUS), Catherine Debrunner (SUI), Manuela Schar (SUI) and Nikita den Boer (NED), as well as rising British star Eden Rainbow-Cooper.
The reigning champion De Rozario has welcomed the move to an equal prize fund, saying it has an impact far beyond sport.
De Rozario said: “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. 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.”
2024 TCS London Marathon elite men’s wheelchair field
- Rafael Botello Jimenez (ESP)
- Joshua Cassidy (CAN)
- Evan Correll (USA)
- Sean Frame (GBR)
- Kota Hokinoue (JPN)
- Marcel Hug (SUI)
- Jake Lappin (AUS)
- Simon Lawson (GBR)
- Jordi Madera Jimenez (ESP)
- Ludwig Malter (AUT)
- Michael McCabe (GBR)
- Patrick Monahan (IRL)
- Hiroki Nishida (JPN)
- Aaron Pike (USA)
- Jetze Plat (NED)
- Daniel Romanchuk (USA)
- Geert Schipper (NED)
- James Senbeta (USA)
- Brian Sieman (USA)
- Johnboy Smith (GBR)
- Tomoki Suzuki (JPN)
- Sho Watanabe (JPN)
- David Weir (GBR)
2024 elite women’s wheelchair field
- Noemi Alphonse (MRI)
- Christie Dawes (AUS)
- Madison de Rozario (AUS)
- Vanessa Cristina de Souza (BRA)
- Catherine Debrunner (SUI)
- Nikita den Boer (NED)
- Patricia Eachus (SUI)
- Jenna Fesemyer (USA)
- Yen Hoang (USA)
- Tsubasa Kina (JPN)
- Tatyana McFadden (USA)
- Merle Menje (GER)
- Eden Rainbow-Cooper (GBR)
- Aline Rocha (BRA)
- Susannah Scaroni (USA)
- Manuela Schar (SUI)
- Wakako Tsuchida (JPN)
- Michelle Wheeler (USA)
The 2024 TCS London Marathon takes place on Sunday 21 April. The men and women’s elite fields will be announced on Monday 26 February.