Cost Reductions Kept Olympic Canoe in Tokyo Bay

(ATR) International Canoe Federation President Jose Perurena says the ICF was flexible in preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Games and considered a venue change outside of the Japanese capital.

"If the costs had not been lowered and we were forced to leave the city, I would not have hesitated to do so because the ultimate goal is to make the Olympic Games viable in the future, so that the population does not see them as a punishment, but as a prize," Perurena told Around the Rings in an exclusive interview.

When original cost estimates of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics surfaced, the multi-billion dollar budget was scoffed at by the International Olympic Committee and Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The Tokyo 2020 Coordination Commission led by John Coates sought to ensure that the budget would be lowered with a series of cost-cutting measures.

Among them, Tokyo 2020 considered relocating the canoeing and rowing venue to Miyagi Prefecture more than 180 miles (300 kilometers) from Tokyo. However, Perurena says the federation was able to avoid this solution by nearly cutting the cost estimate of the Tokyo Bay venue in half.

"The initial estimate of costs has been reduced by 40 percent," Perurena told ATR. "A new feasibility study resulted in streamlining the infrastructure rather than the installation itself."

Included in the cost reduction is the decision to use a temporary track for the course.

One source of the high initial projection was that construction laws in Japan are "very severe" and that many building materials costs are doubled due to the seismic standards each building must uphold, according to Perurena.

"The costs had skyrocketed, but they have adjusted thanks to a great effort from the IOC Coordination Commission with the Organizing Committee."

Perurena says the ICF has also worked collaboratively with the IOC regarding its series of decision regarding the Russian doping crisis.

Following the IOC decision in August 2016 to allow each International Federation to determine which Russian athletes could compete at the Rio 2016 Olympics, the ICF excluded five athletes due to the athletes’ names in the McLaren Report investigating Russian doping.

The IOC took a more stringent position ahead of the upcoming PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games in February, suspending the Russian Olympic Committee yet allowing clean and neutral Russian athletes to compete under the "Olympic Athletes from Russia" name. Perurena applauded the decision.

"I think the decision of the IOC has been balanced and correct," he said. "Although many media criticized the slowness, the IOC had to be clear when making a decision like the one taken."

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Written by Miguel Hernandez and Kevin Nutley

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