2022 London Marathon to stage the richest wheelchair race in history

By Issy Ronald, CNN

Updated 0947 GMT (1747 HKT) July 6, 2022

The London Marathon has increased the prize money available at its wheelchair races to record levels.

(CNN)At last year'sLondon Marathon, Switzerland's Marcel Hug and Manuela Schär set course records in the men's and women's wheelchair races respectively.

This year, organizers are setting records before the race has even begun, announcing on Wednesday that the 2022London Marathon will host the richest wheelchair races in history.The total prize pot across both races has increased by $57,800 from $141,700 in 2021 to $199,500 in 2022. Each top-10 finisher in the men's and women's races will receive a portion of this total; the winners will receive $35,000 — an increase of $10,000 — while second place will pocket $20,000 and third $15,000. Additional bonuses will be available for course records and the fastest times set at the Abbott World Marathon Majors Flying 400 — a specified 400-meter time trial section of the course.Read More«I've been racing marathons around the world since 2013,» defending women's champion Schär said in a press release. «To see what the London Marathon has done, and continues to do, to promote wheelchair racing should be a great example to society.»She will start the race as favorite, befitting her status as the world's leading female wheelchair racer since 2018, alongside Australia's Paralympic champion Madison de Rozario who won the London Marathon in 2018.Schär won the women's wheelchair race at the 2022 Boston Marathon.Fellow former champions Nikita den Boer of the Netherlands and Tatyana McFadden of the USA will also compete, making for a stacked field.«The London Marathon has for many years led the way in promoting, supporting and