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Three American runners who were thrown off course during the U.S. half-marathon championships have earned exemptions to the world road running championships.
World Athletics said it would allow the United States to bring seven runners to the World Road Running Championships in September after Jessica McClain, Emma Grace Hurley and Ednah Kurgat veered off course during the Atlanta half marathon earlier this month.
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Jessica McClain (USA) places eighth in the women’s marathon in 2:28:32 during the World Athletics Championships at the National Stadium on September 14, 2025. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Athletics’ governing body said only four runners would be entered as “highlight athletes”, meaning the other three would not be able to compete for medals or prize money at the world championships in Copenhagen.
“In working to find a solution, World Athletics has shown sympathy to the affected athletes who would otherwise not be able to compete at WRRC Copenhagen 2026, and understands the unprecedented situation that USATF – one of our major member federations – finds itself in,” World Athletics said.
The organization added that USA Track and Field (USATF) will be able to choose the four athletes entered as highlight athletes.
Ednah Kurgat (USA) places 10th in the senior women’s race in 33:16 during the World Track and Field Cross Country Championships Tallahassee 26 at Apalachee Regional Park on January 10, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
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The USATF said that “we are grateful for their collaboration which helps us honor all the athletes involved in this extraordinary situation.”
World Athletics said the situation around McClain, Hurley and Kurgat was involved in an “extraordinary set of circumstances” at the U.S. Half Marathon Championships in Atlanta.
McClain led the race with about two miles to go. But her race was disrupted when she was thrown off the path by a media vehicle. McClain followed the media vehicle, a police motorcycle and a motorcycle equipped with a camera.
She finished in ninth place while Hurley and Kurgat finished 12th and 13th, respectively.
“Good things take time,” McClain wrote in a post on his Instagram Stories.
The first woman to cross the half-marathon finish line, Emma Grace Hurley of Indianapolis, won her category in 1:08:25. Runners compete in the 17th annual Monumental Indianapolis Marathon on Saturday, November 9, 2024. (Doug McSchooler/for IndyStar-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
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World Athletics made it clear that its decision was “strictly ad hoc”.
