A renowned wheelchair athlete who was injured in the 2014 Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon because race organizers altered the course without notifying him was awarded $4 million by a San Diego jury this week.

Craig Blanchette, a former Olympian and pioneer in wheelchair racing, sued race owner Competitor Group Inc. for gross negligence. Blanchette said that race organizers changed a portion of the course the morning of the race, on 11th Avenue near B Street, and did not inform him.

The change reduced the number of lanes available to racers from four to three. Blanchette had just descended the long Park Boulevard hill, made a right onto B then a left onto 11th, according to his lawyer Keith Rodenhuis.

Blanchette, a third pace finisher at the 1,500-meter wheelchair race at the 1988 Olympics and eight-time world champion, was expecting to have the entire width of the street to maneuver through the turn. However, organizers had eliminated one lane on the far side of the street.


In an interview Blanchette said he was going about 20 miles per hour and had no time to adjust. His wheelchair slammed into a car.

“I was expecting curb-to-curb,” he said. “I’ve done more than 800 races, gone around hundreds of curves, and never crashed in my life.”

The collision shattered his collarbone, broke several ribs and tore his rotator cuff. The collision ended his career as an elite racer.

After filing the lawsuit, Blanchette and his lawyers learned that race organizers narrowed the street just before the race. While course organizers had a map showing the change, it was not shown to racers. Rodenhuis said that race organizers contended the city told them they had to keep a lane open for traffic, and also said that Blanchette ought to have toured the course the day before to familiarize himself with it.


A lawyer for the company did not respond to a request for comment. A representative for Competitor Group said in an email the company does not comment on ongoing litigation.

Rodenhuis said Competitor Group offered to settle the case before trial for $30,000. Jurors found after a nearly two-week trial in front of Superior Court Judge Richard E.L. Strauss that Competitor Group was grossly negligent for Blanchette’s injuries.

They awarded him $3.625 million for past and future noneconomic losses including pain and suffering, and another $375,000 in economic damages.

Blanchette, born with no legs, lives in Washington state. After surgeries to repair the damage he said doctors told him that he would not be able to train hard enough to resume an elite racing career, one that had earned him plaudits and taken him around the world. He had set 21 different world records in his career.


He says he is now a health coach, and does some hand cycling when he can.


Twitter: @gregmoran

greg.moran@sduniontribune.com