(ATR) Eight hundred runners completed a 621-mile long relay in the Tokyo Bay Area on Tuesday.
Tokyo governor Yoichi Masuzoe was at the finish line to welcome the runners to the capital of Japan and to congratulate them on their achievement.
Among the participants were Sydney 2000 marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi, Vancouver 2010 speed skating bronze medalist Joji Kato, London 2012 table tennis silver medalist Kasumi Ishikawa, and Athens 2004 Paralympics wheelchair tennis gold medalist Shingo Kunieda.
The two-week relay started in the city of Aomori on July 24, the scheduled date for the Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony, and stretched through regions affected by the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami before arriving in Tokyo.
The relay was held to inspire the population of these disaster-affected areas.
"I took part in the relay in the hope that it might contribute in some small way to inspiring and revitalizing the local communities," Joji Kato said after the relay.
"If running can play a role in the reconstruction efforts, I would run forever!"
Written by Andrew Murrell
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