The three athletes who looked set to fill the podium positions before being led off course at the women’s US Half Marathon Championship race in Atlanta will receive compensation equivalent to the prize money on offer.
Jess McClain was running comfortably at the front of the race, closely pursued by Ednah Kurgat and Emma Hurley with only one and a half miles remaining.
However an official pace car led the three leading runners the wrong way, causing them all to miss out on the chance of a podium finish.
Instead, it was Molly Born who crossed the line first in a time of 1:09:42, ahead of Carrie Ellwood and Annie Rodenfels.
As well as acting as a qualifier for the USA team at the World Road Running Championships in September, the winner also claimed a cheque for $20,000.
Unfortunate sequence of events
But now the Atlanta Track Club, who organised the race, have said they will match the prize money on offer to the first three athletes and have clearly explained how the situation arose.
They concluded that an on-duty officer being struck by a vehicle set in motion a train of events that ultimately led to the leading athletes being guided the wrong way.
The timeline can be read in full via the Instagram post below.
Officer later released from hospital
A statement then said: “Atlanta Track Club’s position remains unchanged: We are responsible for the integrity of these championships. We regret that Jess McClain, Emma Grace Hurley and Ednah Kurgat were impacted by this incident and were unable to be recognized as the top three finishers reflective of their performance on the course.
“Atlanta Track Club has offered to match the prize money as follows: McClain to receive the equivalent of first-place prize money. Hurley and Kurgat will split the combined total of second and third-place prize money because they were shoulder-to-shoulder when they left the race course.”
That means McClain will receive $20,000 and Hurley and Kurgat $9,750 each as second was $12,000 and third $7,500.
And the statement added: “Atlanta Track Club also recognizes and appreciates the swift and professional response of law enforcement, who prioritized the safety of both the injured officer and the more than 11,000 participants on the course.
“The Fulton County Sheriff’s officer involved in the emergency incident was working for the race and had been on a motorcycle. He was transported to Grady Hospital and released later that day.”
USA Track and Field (USATF) confirmed that a protest was lodged by the athletes but it added that the jury of appeals found that while ‘the course was not adequately marked at the point of misdirection’, there was ‘no recourse within the USATF rulebook to alter the results order of finish’.
It added: “This race was a selection event for the 2026 World Road Running Championships. That team is not officially selected until May. USATF will review the events from Atlanta carefully. While we understand athletes are eager to resolve this issue expeditiously, our process will ensure an ultimate decision is in the best interest of all the athletes involved.”
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