Professional Athletes

Boston Athletic Association is pleased to support integrity in competition, and to announce it has contracted with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (“USADA”) to provide an anti-doping program during the Boston Marathon (the “Event”), to be held in Boston, Massachusetts, a USATF (“Sanctioning Body”) sanctioned event. USADA is the independent national anti-doping organization in the United States, and runs the U.S. anti-doping program for Olympic, Paralympic, Pan-American and Parapan American movement sports, in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code (“Code”). Boston Athletic Association has contracted with USADA to demonstrate a commitment to fair, drug-free, and safe competition. Doping, as defined in the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing and its Annexes (the “USADA Protocol”), is against the rules of the Event, and will not be tolerated. The anti-doping rules for the Event are set forth in the USADA Protocol and are fully applicable to each competitor, each member of the competitor’s team, and all athlete support personnel involved in the Event. Any violation of the anti-doping rules may result in disqualification and loss of results achieved during the Event, in addition to all consequences that arise in accordance with the USADA Protocol and the Code.

Athletes competing in the Event are subject to blood and/or urine testing for any substance or method on the World Anti-Doping Agency (“WADA”) Prohibited List: www.usada.org/prohibited-list/. In addition to testing, USADA is a resource for educational information and will have jurisdiction to handle the results management process of any potential anti-doping rule violation. All Event participants (including competitors, each member of the competitor’s team, and all athlete support personnel involved in the Event) acknowledge and agree that they are subject to the Code and the USADA Protocol, and that they are required to abide by all such rules and by the anti-doping rules of the Boston Athletic Association and the Sanctioning Body. Anti-doping rule violations will be adjudicated in accordance with the USADA Protocol and each participant agrees that their sole, exclusive, final and binding remedy in relation to any potential anti-doping rule violation alleged by USADA and/or in response to any matter relating to anti-doping, sample collection, drug testing, doping control, results management and/or USADA shall be arbitration in accordance with the USADA Protocol.

As USADA is an independent entity, all athlete questions or concerns regarding details of the anti-doping program at the Event should be directed to USADA.  In an effort to aid athletes, as well as all support team members such as parents, coaches, managers and paramedical personnel, in understanding the rules applicable to them, USADA provides comprehensive information on its website regarding the testing process and prohibited substances, how to obtain permission to use a necessary medication, and the risks and dangers of taking supplements as well as performance-enhancing and recreational drugs. Athletes looking for information about the testing process can start at www.usada.org/athletes. In addition, USADA manages an athlete hotline which may be used to find answers to drug reference questions at (719) 785-2000, toll-free at (866) 601-2632, and by email at athleteexpress@usada.org. Athletes may also access this information online at www.GlobalDRO.com. For information about dietary supplements, please visit USADA’s Supplement 411 resource at www.Supplement411.org.

For more general anti-doping program information, please visit www.usada.org.

The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) has elected to issue voluntary payments to athletes who were adversely affected by doping offenses at B.A.A. events.

“While the multi-step process to reclaim and redistribute prize money has been complex and time consuming for all involved, we have worked – and continue to work—diligently towards a resolution that supports clean athletes while still holding all athletes accountable,” said Jack Fleming, President and CEO of the B.A.A. “Athletes will receive the prize money they rightfully earned at our races with these payments.”

INFORMATION FOR ATHLETES

The B.A.A. is identifying and contacting athletes whose results were re-ranked due to a disqualification within prize money placings since 1986, when prize money was first offered. If you are an athlete due a voluntary repayment, please complete the following form.

PAYMENT FORM

The B.A.A. is working to ensure voluntary payments are received by impacted athletes. For any athlete whose finishing place among the prize money positions was adversely affected by the ultimate disqualification of another athlete, the B.A.A. will issue a voluntary payment for the difference the athlete did not receive due to re-ranked results.

The B.A.A. seeks to identify and contact athletes whose results were re-ranked due to a disqualification within prize money placings since 1986, when prize money was first offered at B.A.A. events.

Payments will commence in January 2025. Any athlete who believes they were adversely affected and who has not been contacted by the B.A.A. by the end of 2024 are encouraged to contact the B.A.A. at voluntarypayments@baa.org.

VOLUNTARY PAYMENT PARAMETERS (1986-2024)

• The B.A.A. will seek to identify and make contact with all athletes who competed between 1986 and 2024 and were re-ranked due to a nullification of results.
• Payments will be directed only to the athlete who competed. Payments will be calculated as the difference between the cash prize value paid to the athlete (including cash bonuses for any placement records, but not including the value of any medals or trophies), and the gross prize value the athlete should have earned for the adjusted placement.
• The voluntary payment will not be adjusted for inflation or interest. The prize schedules in place at the time of the athlete’s competition will be used for calculating the additional voluntary amount paid by the B.A.A.
• The retroactive voluntary payments will be taxed in accordance with IRS regulations based on the athlete’s tax status. The B.A.A. will collect IRS Forms W9 or W8 prior to issuing voluntary payments, and withhold proper amounts from the gross prize value. Athletes are responsible for reporting the voluntary payments in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.
• If an athlete has ever been sanctioned for anti-doping offenses (before, during, or after the re-ranking of B.A.A. event results) then they are not eligible to receive any payment adjustment. If an athlete who is provided with an adjusted payment is later disqualified, the B.A.A. will seek to recoup funds.

VOLUNTARY PAYMENT PARAMETERS (Starting in 2025)

• Athletes must fill out this form and apply within six months of a re-ranking/disqualification to receive their voluntary payment.
• The B.A.A. will only make repayments if the re-ranking takes place within five years of the affected race date.
• Please email the B.A.A. at voluntarypayments@baa.org with any questions.

OTHER CONDITIONS

The issuance of a voluntary payment by the B.A.A. is in the interest of acknowledging rightful prize earners and supporting professional athletes. Any issuance of voluntary payments by the B.A.A. shall not constitute or imply an admission of wrongdoing, liability, or obligation of the B.A.A. now or at any point in the future. By accepting a voluntary payment, athletes agree to full release of the B.A.A. and acknowledge and agree that the B.A.A. has no obligation to provide any other form of payment, compensation, or award of any kind to the athlete.

The B.A.A. reserves the right to revise, amend, rescind, or terminate at any time its approach to nullifications, including the provision of voluntary payments.

ANTI-DOPING EFFORTS AT B.A.A. EVENTS

Top finishers at all B.A.A. events are tested in accordance with the guidelines set forth by World Athletics, USA Track and Field, the World Anti-Doping Agency, the United States Anti-Doping Agency, and the Athletes Integrity Unit.

If an athlete has ever been sanctioned for anti-doping offenses (before, during, or after the re-ranking of B.A.A. event results) then they are not eligible to receive any voluntary payment. If an athlete who is provided with a voluntary payment is later disqualified, the B.A.A. will seek to recoup the payment.