BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 11: Marcel Hug of Switzerland crosses the finish line to win the men’s wheelchair race during the 125th Boston Marathon on October 11, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Marcel Hug defended his title in Monday's Boston Marathon, winning the men's wheelchair race once again. But a slight mistake proved costly.
Hug, of Switzerland, won despite making a wrong turn in the final mile, finishing the slightly detoured route just seven seconds off his course record in 1:08:11.
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Hug, who has raced Boston eight times and has five victories here, cost himself a $50,000 course record bonus when he missed the second-to-last turn, following the lead vehicle instead of turning from Commonwealth Avenue onto Hereford Street.
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“The car went straight and I followed the car,” said Hug, who finished second in the Chicago Marathon by 1 second on Sunday. “But it’s my fault. I should go right, but I followed the car.”
This year's 125th Boston Marathon featured a restructured prize purse, including equal course record bonuses for the open and wheelchair divisions.
The marathon made history as the first Abbott World Marathon Major event to offer equal $50,000 course record bonuses across open and wheelchair divisions, and the first event to provide a designated prize purse for athletes with upper limb, lower limb and visual impairments.
