Swiss athletes return to October 2 event as prize pot for 2022 races is increased by $57,800 to $199,500

The 2022 TCS London Marathon will host the richest wheelchair races in history on Sunday October 2.

Defending champions Marcel Hug and Manuela Schär of Switzerland, Paralympic marathon winner Madison de Rozario of Australia and eight-time London Marathon champion David Weir of Britain will all be competing for a share of the biggest-ever wheelchair racing prize pot.

The TCS London Marathon has increased the total prize structure across both the men’s and women’s wheelchair races by $57,800: from $141,700 in 2021 to $199,500 this year. The new structure includes increased prize money for each of the top 10 finishers, while there are additional bonuses available for course records and the Abbott World Marathon Majors Flying 400 competition.

The winners of the men’s and women’s wheelchair race will receive $35,000 each, up from $25,000 last year, with second receiving $20,000 and third $15,000. There are incremental increases for all the finisher positions down to the 10th-placed athlete, who will receive $1,250

Schär said: “I’ve been racing marathons around the world since 2013. To see what the London Marathon has done, and continues to do, to promote wheelchair racing should be a great example to society.”

Weir said: “For the London Marathon to be taking a stand and increasing prize money for wheelchair athletes is really powerful and sets a benchmark for all sports globally. I really appreciate, and forever will, what the London Marathon is doing for the men’s and women’s wheelchair divisions.”

Hugh Brasher, TCS London Marathon Event Director, said: “The London Marathon has for many years led the way in promoting, supporting and showcasing the very best wheelchair racers in the world. We’re delighted to be doing this again by making this year’s wheelchair races the richest in history and welcoming the greatest wheelchair athlete field we have ever assembled.”

Schär leads the entries in the elite women’s wheelchair field. The 37-year-old has been the world’s leading female wheelchair racer since 2018 and set a London Marathon course record of 1:39:52 last year. One of the few racers to have got the better of Schär in recent years is Paralympic marathon champion de Rozario, the 2018 London Marathon winner, and she will return to the UK capital in October for the first time since 2019.

Teenage German sensation Merle Menje, who finished second last year when aged just 17, is back for 2022, as is 2020 champion Nikita den Boer of the Netherlands. Four-time London Marathon winner Tatyana McFadden of the United States returns along with her compatriot Susannah Scaroni, who recently set a world 5000m record (10:38:46).

In the men’s race, Hug will be looking to defend the title he won last year and faces competition from Daniel Romanchuk of the United States, 2019 champion and winner of this year’s Boston Marathon, as well as Weir bidding to win his ninth title.