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≡ THE FOLLOW-UP ≡
Sunday’s USA Track & Field women’s Half Marathon Championships race went wrong about 11 miles in, when the lead car went off the course and the top four women in the race at the time followed it, to the detriment of all four.
At the 15 km split (9.3 miles), Emma Grace Hurley, Edna Kurgat and Jess McClain were running together at 49:11, with Carrie Ellwood fourth in 49:16 and then eventual “winner” Molly Born fifth in 49:32.
McClain – who was leading – Hurley and Kurgat had to turn around and rejoin the actual course around the 12-mile mark, with only a little more than a mile to go. At the 20 km split (12.4 miles), McClain was 11th and 1:46 behind Born, now the leader.
In the end, Born won in 1:09:43, with McClain ninth in 1:11:27, Hurley 12th (1:11:38) and Kurgat 13th (1:11:50). McClain said afterwards that her wrist GPS indicated she actually ran 21.9 km (13.6 miles), costing her more than two minutes.
The Atlanta Track Club, the race organizer, posted a statement on Sunday, taking responsibility for the error and promising to find out what happened and make the impacted runners – notably McClain, Hurley and Kurgat – “whole.”
On Tuesday (3rd), the ATC did exactly that. In a long post, the explanation and the remedy were provided:
● “Thirteen minutes before the lead women reached that intersection, a report of an officer down was broadcast across the assigned Atlanta Police Department frequency. The officer was reported to be down one block from the race course.”
● “As per their training, the police personnel assigned to the race responded to aid the officer down and to support the arrival of additional first responders around and through the race course.
“This action left a number of key race intersections, including the one where the wrong turn occurred, unattended for a brief period.”
● “In a well-orchestrated response, Atlanta Police Department backfilled this intersection with personnel who would help keep runners safe while helping first responders through the intersection to reach the officer down.
“The lead vehicle driver for the women’s race knew the course was to continue over the footbridge. But because the intersection and the traffic cones had not been reset for the race due to the arrival of emergency vehicles, the driver followed a police motorcycle off course – believing the race was being rerouted.
“The backfilled officer at that intersection, who was not assigned to the race, did not know that the race’s lead vehicles were going to use a footbridge that does not normally allow cars on it, so was not equipped to prevent the wrong turn.”
The resolution of the damage to the runners involved was also noted:
“We are responsible for the integrity of these championships. We regret that Jess McClain, Emma Grace Hurley and Ednah Kurgat were impacted by this incident and were unable to be recognized as the top three finishers reflective of their performance on the course.
“Atlanta Track Club has offered to match the prize money as follows: McClain to receive the equivalent of first-place prize money. Hurley and Kurgat will split the combined total of second- and- third-place prize money because they were shoulder-to-shoulder when they left the race course.”
That means McClain is to received $20,000 and Hurley and Kurgat will receive $9,750 each, half of the combined second and third-place prize money of $12,000 and $7,500. Ellwood, who veered off course for about 150 m, was passed by a surging Born and was second by 4.47 seconds, did not receive any added compensation.
The next step is up to USA Track & Field, which was using this race to select its team for the World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen (DEN) in September, and said Sunday:
“USATF will review the events from Atlanta carefully. While we understand athletes are eager to resolve this issue expeditiously, our process will ensure an ultimate decision is in the best interest of all the athletes involved.”
Born has already said she should not be selected.
Observed: This is a masterclass by the Atlanta Track Club and chief executive Rich Kenah – a former 800 m star himself – on how to handle a problem correctly.
It took immediate responsibility, promised to make it right and obtained and released (1) the facts and (2) the remedy in following two days.
Good for them. Now, it is up to USATF to do two things: (1) make a proper selection of McClain, Hurley and Kurgat for the World Road Running Championships and (2) set up a seminar at its December Annual Meeting for Kenah to explain how he dealt with this situation, so that others will know the right way to handle it in the future. This applies to not only road events, but track & field as well.
The other good news in the ATC post is that the Fulton County Sheriff’s deputy involved in the incident was transported to Grady Hospital and released later that day.
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