Athletics - The 128th Boston Marathon - Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. - April 15, 2024 General view during the Boston Marathon REUTERS/Reba Saldanha/ File Photo
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Boston Athletic Association is to pay prize money to athletes who finished behind doping offenders at their races.
The organizer of the world's oldest annual marathon said on Tuesday it was in the process of contacting athletes entitled to prizes after their results were re-ranked due to disqualification.
The payouts would apply to runners since 1986, when BAA first introduced prize money.
"While the multi-step process to reclaim and redistribute prize money has been complex and time-consuming for all involved, we have worked – and continue to work — diligently towards a resolution that supports clean athletes," BAA President and CEO Jack Fleming said in a statement.
Marathon running has been hit with a spate of high-profile doping cases in recent years, particularly from powerhouse Kenya.
Kenya's Diana Kipyokei was stripped of her 2021 Boston Marathon title for doping two years ago and was handed a six-year ban.
The BAA said voluntary payments would begin in January and that athletes who believe they were adversely affected should apply for compensation.
"We are doing what we can to ensure fair competition among athletes, and we will always seek to play host to the fairest of playing fields at all of our events," added Fleming.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
