The Olympic marathon and go-go competitions will be relocated from Tokyo to Sapporo - against the will of the Japanese host city of the 2020 Summer Games. It will not impede the corresponding plans of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike.
She emphasized, however, that she disagreed with the measure and that it had not been adequately reasoned. "But the decision-making power lies with the IOC," she said. Now it is the most important thing to "ensure the success of the games".
Earlier, representatives of politics, the Japanese Organizing Committee and the IOC met in Tokyo. The IOC had already announced a transfer - according to news agency AP without consultation with Tokyo.
The reason for the relocation is the impending heat. In Tokyo, the athletes expect temperatures between 25 and 35 degrees during the games (24 July to 9 August). Sapporo on Hokkaido Island, 800 kilometers north of the capital, has a daytime high of five to six degrees below zero in the summer. In addition, the humidity is much lower.
In the award, the heat was secondary
Tokyo was awarded the Olympic bid in 2013 - even then the climatic conditions were probably known to the IOC. However, a relocation strives only since the incidents at the World Athletics Championships in Qatar.
In the marathon of the women only 40 of 68 starters arrived at the finish, the rest had to break off, many athletes had to be guided by wheelchairs off the track. At the beginning of the run, there were 32.7 degrees Celsius and high humidity (73.3 percent) at midnight. Nevertheless, the men's race took place later as planned.
It will be different in Japan. "I think it is now clear that we have an acceptance of our proposal," said John Coates, chairman of the responsible IOC Commission. Tokyo will have no costs for the move.
What about the marathon swimmers?
At the beginning of August, the open water swimmers had sounded the alarm after a five-kilometer test competition on the Olympic route. "That was the warmest race I've ever played," said London Olympic champion Oussama Mellouli. The Japanese Yumi Kida also criticized the water quality at Odaiba Marine Park: "It stank a bit and the visibility was cloudy."
The open water race in the bay of the Japanese capital had already been moved from 10 o'clock to 7 o'clock local time because of the high temperatures. The swimming World Federation Fina said after the test match a review and announced to consider an even earlier start time. A decision is pending.
