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Three American runners who were derailed from their route during the US Half Marathon Championships have been granted exemptions to the World Road Racing Championships.
World Athletics said it would allow the United States to bring seven runners to the World Road Racing Championships in September after Jessica McClain, Emma Grace Hurley and Ednah Kurgat ran off course during the half marathon in Atlanta 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/Image Images)
Athletics’ governing body said only four runners will be entered as “scoring athletes”, meaning the other three will 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 been sympathetic to the affected athletes who would otherwise miss competing at WRRC Copenhagen 2026, and has been understanding of 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 which four athletes are registered as scoring athletes.
Ednah Kurgat (USA) places 10th in the senior women’s race in 33:16 during the Tallahassee 26 World Track and Field Cross Country Championships at Apalachee Regional Park on January 10, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Image Images)
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The USATF said, “We are grateful for your collaboration in helping us honor all athletes involved in this extraordinary situation.”
World Athletics said the situation surrounding McClain, Hurley and Kurgat involved an “extraordinary set of circumstances” at the US Half Marathon Championships in Atlanta.
McClain was leading the race with about two miles left. But her career was thrown off course when a media vehicle ran her off the road. McClain followed the media vehicle, a police motorcycle and a motorcycle with a camera.
He finished in ninth place, while Hurley and Kurgat finished in 12th and 13th respectively.
“Good things take time,” McClain wrote in a post on her Instagram Stories.
The first woman to cross the half marathon finish line, Emma Grace Hurley of Indianapolis, won her category in a time of 1:08:25. Runners compete in the 17th Annual Indianapolis Monument 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 unique.”
