Tokyo 2020 And IOC At Odds Over Olympic Marathon
The marathon and walking events at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 could be set for early starts to mitigate the summer heat in the city.
The IOC, in consultation with the IAAF, had announced plans to move the events to the northern city of Sapporo, the host of the Olympic Winter Games in 1972, but organisers are considering plans to start the events at 5am in order to avoid hotter parts of the day.
The IOC had argued that the move to Sapporo would mean significantly lower temperatures for athletes but government officials in the Olympic Host City are exploring ways to keep the events together with the rest of the Games.
Yuriko Koike, Tokyo Governor said: “The athletes-first approach is extremely important. To choose Sapporo so suddenly… why Sapporo, who decided this? There was no discussion, and I have a lot of doubts about having this thrust on us. We have made many preparations and there’s no change in my thinking that it should be held in Tokyo.”
John Coates, Chairman, IOC’s Coordination Commission, said: “It’s not a matter of if the Tokyo government insists, the decision has been taken. The IOC was shocked by what we saw in Doha in very similar conditions in terms of temperature and humidity to what’s expected here in Tokyo.”
The counter-proposal from the Tokyo government was unlikely to change the outcome, Coates said. “It’s not a matter of if the Tokyo government insists. The decision has been taken.”
Games organisers have been working to mitigate the heat with a range of measures, including painting the roads with heat-shielding material and ensuring trees along the route aren’t trimmed to further protect runners and spectators from the heat.
