London Marathon: Why prize money won by Brigid Kosgei was reduced by nearly half compared to last year

October 4, 2020 Kenya's Brigid Kosgei celebrates after winning the elite women's race of the London Marathon as she poses with second place Sara Hall of the U.S. and third placed Kenya's Ruth Chepngetich Pool via REUTERS

Defending champion and World record holder Brigid Kosgei on Sunday morning won the 2020 London Marathon race in 2:18:58.

Kosgei, 26, collected a total of $30,000(approx Khs 3.3 Million) for crossing the line first, ahead of second place  Sara Hall of the U.S and third-placed, Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya.

The Sh3.2 million pocketed by Kosgei was considerably less than the $55,000 (approx Khs 5.5 Million) prize she took home last year after winning the London Marathon.

The rules for distributing the prize money also dictate that the same amount of cash be given to the winners of elite men's races as well as the lower finishers.

Months before the race, the event organizers said that the reduction of its prize fund for the 2020 London Marathon by nearly half was due to the financial hit from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Concerns over the pandemic have caused disruption to the worldwide sporting calendar and also loss of sports revenues collected by event organisers.

The races, originally postponed from April because of the COVID-19 pandemic, were run over almost 20 laps of a fenced-off course in a "controlled secure biosphere" around St James's Park.