The world's top professional wheelchair athletes, including the defending champions of the Chicago Marathon, will compete in the first-ever Chicago-New York Challenge this fall.
Tatyana McFadden and Josh George, the winners of the Chicago Marathon wheelchair race last year, will compete with several other top athletes in both the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and the TCS New York City Marathon.
Athletes can earn points based on their performance in both races, and the top male and female athlete will take home a $10,000 prize.
"The Bank of America Chicago Marathon and the TCS New York City Marathon are two of my favorite races, so to be part of the new Chicago-New York Challenge is very exciting," said McFadden, winner of 10 straight Abbott World Marathon Major races.
The challenge will serve as a prelude to the inaugural Abbott World Marathon Majors Wheelchair Series, which begins in Boston in April.
McFadden, 26, became the first and only athlete to win four of the world's major marathons in the same calendar year (2013), winning titles at Boston, London, Chicago and New York. She repeated the feat again in 2014.
George, 31, is a four-time Chicago Marathon winner and the reigning champion of the London Marathon.
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McFadden and George will compete with Kurt Fearnley of Australia, Ernst Van Dyk of South Africa, Amanda McGrory of the U.S. and Manuela Schar of Switzerland, among others.
Only athletes competing in both of the races will be eligible to score points and receive the prize money. Points will be awarded to the top five finishers at each race, and the cumulative scores from each event will be ranked to determine the winners of the challenge.
The Bank of America Chicago Marathon takes place Oct. 11 followed by the TCS New York City Marathon on Nov. 1.
