Organizers of the Boston Marathon have announced they’re adding a new competitive category to the 123-year-old race in 2020. The Para Athletic Division will be open to athletes with vision, upper-limb and lower-limb impairments, making the Boston Marathon the first major marathon to establish such a category.
Tom Grilk, executive director of the Boston Athletic Association, the group that manages the marathon, said the new category is for athletes with impairments who wish to compete at a higher level.
“The idea in establishing the division is to give people the opportunity to compete and to aspire to compete. It really is all about aspiration,” Grilk said.
The BAA already welcomes runners with impairments through adaptive programs, but Grilk said the goal of the new division is to attract participants who are looking for a competitive challenge.
“Those competitive divisions will be organized along the lines established by the International Para Olympics Committee, the group that organizes the Para Olympics every four years,” he said.
There is also prize money in the new category, Grilk said.
“We look forward to seeing just how many people come out here to compete for that. It is all about athletic competition,” he said.
The 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings, which killed three people and injured dozens, many of who lost limbs, created a desire among BAA officials to create a para athletic division. Some of the world’s leading para-athletes, including Adrianne Haslet of Boston, who lost part of her leg in the 2013 Marathon Bombing, is expected to be involved in the planning.
“We never forget all the people who were so profoundly affected by what happened here in 2013,” Grilk said, “and to the extent this connects to them we are very pleased, indeed.”