An unofficial mark for an amputee runner 3:28
(CNN) --
At last year's London Marathon, Switzerland's Marcel Hug and Manuela Schär set records in the men's and women's wheelchair races.
This year, the organizers are setting records even before the race begins.
This Wednesday they announced that the 2022 London Marathon will host the most valuable wheelchair races in history.
The total prize money for both races increased by $57,800, from $141,700 in 2021 to $199,500 in 2022.
Each of the top 10 finishers in the men's and women's races will receive a portion of this total;
winners will receive $35,000, an increase of $10,000, while second place will take home $20,000 and third place $15,000.
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There will be additional bonuses for course records and fastest times set in the Abbott World Marathon Majors Flying 400, a specific 400-meter section that is raced against the clock.
"I have been running marathons all over the world since 2013," said Schär, the defending women's champion, in a press release.
"Seeing what the London Marathon has done, and continues to do, to promote wheelchair racing should set a great example for society."
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Shär will start the race as the favourite, in keeping with her status as the world's top female wheelchair runner since 2018, alongside Australian Paralympic champion Madison de Rozario, who won the London Marathon in 2018.
Schär won the women's wheelchair race at the 2022 Boston Marathon.
Other former champions, Nikita den Boer of the Netherlands and Tatyana McFadden of the United States, will also compete, making for a close race.
"The London Marathon has for many years been a leader in promoting, supporting and showcasing the world's best wheelchair runners," event director Hugh Brasher said in a press release.
"We are delighted to be at it again by making this year's wheelchair racing the richest ever and welcoming the largest group of wheelchair athletes we have ever assembled."
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In the men's race, Hug will be joined by 2019 champion, American Daniel Romanchuk, and eight-time champion David Weir of Britain.
"For the London Marathon to position itself and increase prize money for wheelchair athletes is really powerful and sets a benchmark for all sports globally," Weir said in a press release.
"I really appreciate, and always will, what the London Marathon is doing for the men's and women's wheelchair divisions."
The 2022 London Marathon will be held on October 2.
London Marathon Wheelchair
