US runners led off course in chaotic half-marathon given entry to world championships | Sport
Three runners who deviated from their course during a qualifying race for the World Road Running Championships have been allowed to take part in the next competition.
Jessica McClain, Emma Grace Hurley and Ednah Kurgat were leading the U.S. Track and Field Half Marathon Championships in Atlanta earlier this month when the guide vehicle caused the trio to swerve. Molly Born, who was more than a minute behind the leaders, managed to win the race, with Carrie Ellwood and Annie Rodenfels in second and third. McClain, Hurley and Kurgat finished ninth, 12th and 13th, respectively, about two minutes behind Born.
In addition to missing out on the $20,000 top prize, McClain, Hurley and Kurgat were deprived of the three qualifying spots for the World Road Racing Championships awarded to the best in Atlanta.
On Wednesday, USATF said World Athletics had given it permission to expand its team from four to seven, meaning McClain, Hurley and Kurgat will be able to compete at the championships in Copenhagen in September. Born, Ellwood and Rodenfels will also make the team alongside a final athlete determined by May’s world rankings.
“From the moment this happened, our goal was to do what was right for the athletes,” said USATF CEO Max Siegel. “Jessica, Emma Grace and Ednah had clearly separated themselves in the race and we are sorry that they were not able to celebrate their achievement by breaking the ribbon. On behalf of everyone at USA Track & Field, I want to thank World Athletics. Their board and management are committed to a fair, athlete-centered solution that preserves the integrity of competition while recognizing the reality of what happened in Atlanta.”
The USATF said it would select four “scoring athletes” and three “non-scoring athletes” for the championships. Scoring athletes will compete as usual, while non-scoring athletes will “wear a separate team kit and may not form a platoon with scoring athletes during competition.” USATF will fund prize money for non-scoring athletes.
The events in Atlanta follow a chaotic turn of events, including the injury of a police officer. Tim Hutchings, who was commentating on the race on television, said he understood how athletes could be unaware that they were being thrown off course.
“When you’re in the heat of the moment, you see red, you have your head down, you’re focused on the task at hand,” said Hutchings, a former distance runner. “You don’t necessarily listen to people shouting behind you. You don’t check to see if you’re still on the right track. You follow a lead vehicle, and it looks like you’re on the right track. But that wasn’t the case today for Jess McClain.”
