Wesley Korir finished fourth in the Chicago Marathon yesterday, but he won’t get the prize money.
Korir apparently started five minutes after the elite group.
Wesley Korir, a Kenyan native and track and cross-country runner at the University of Louisville, was the fourth-place finisher Sunday, but he won’t receive any prize money. Korir did not start in the elite wave at 7:55 a.m., but rather with the remainder of the field at 8 a.m. U.S. Track and Field rules stipulate that all runners receiving prize money must have the same gun time so that no runner has an advantage. This is the first year the race has used an earlier start for the elites. The problem was not anticipated, but according to race spokeswoman Marianne Caponi, because the race is under USATF’s jurisdiction, it must adhere to the rules of that organization. The fourth-place prize money of $15,000 went to fifth-place finisher Martin Lauret of the Netherlands.
Is it possible that Korir outperformed everyone and legitimately finished fourth? Did he hail a cab to shave off some time? Where does Rosie Ruiz stand on all of this?
