At this year’s Boston Marathon, 3 women finished in the top 15 fastest times, yet did not receive prize money. The problem is the rather strange eligibility rules for women, where only the 50 or so elite starters can earn a prize, even if someone else runs a faster time. As a result, Jessica Chichester (5th place, $15,000), Veronica Jackson (13th place, $1,800), and Rebecca Snelson (14th place, $1,700) are not receiving the prizes they logically deserve.
This story has been kicking around locally since the race over two weeks ago, and I keep hoping the Boston Athletic Association will step up and make things right. Perhaps with enough publicity, they’ll spend the extra money to cover double prizes this year, then fix the problem for the 2019 race.
Update (September 19th, 2018): The BAA did do the right thing, as reflected in edits to the aforelinked article.