A wheelchair marathon athlete cost himself $50,000 when he took a wrong turn less than a mile from the finish and missed the course record

• The winner of the Boston Marathon wheelchair race cost himself $50,000 after taking a wrong turn.
• Marcel Hug was on for a record time and the cash bonus, but followed a lead vehicle up the wrong street.
• The 35-year-old finished seven seconds short of the record he set in 2017.

The winner of the Boston Marathon men's wheelchair race cost himself $50,000 when he missed a turn on the way to the finish line.

Marcel Hug won his fifth Boston Marathon title on Sunday but had he finished eight seconds earlier, he would have broken the race record and earned himself the $50,000 bonus.

In all likelihood, 35-year-old Hug would have broken the record had he not followed a lead vehicle straight onwards, when what he actually needed to do was turn right into Boston's Hereford Street, in the final mile of the race.

-Boston Marathon (@bostonmarathon) October 11, 2021

Eventually heading back onto the correct path, the Swiss finished with a time of one hour, 18 minutes and 11 seconds, seven seconds slower than the course record he set in 2017.

After the race, Hug said: "It's sad, but it happens."

"I would say it cost me 20 seconds and it should have been possible to get the record, for sure.

"I went straight behind the lead car instead of a right turn," he added, failing to heed a famous piece of advice often recited by Boston Marathon participants: "Right onto Hereford, left onto Boylston" - a reference to the final two turns of the race.

"It should not have happened. It's my fault.

"I was just focusing on my performance. I didn't think about that. It's sad, but it happens," he said as reported by the Guardian.

Despite missing out on the $50,000 bonus, Hug did receive $25,000 for winning the race.