Early Starts for Marquee Events at Tokyo 2020

(ATR) Athletes competing in athletics and swimming at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be getting up early should they reach the finals in their event.

The Tokyo 2020 organizing committee released the event line-up for the next Summer Games on Tuesday. The program features a record 33 sports and 339 events. The Games actually begin on July 22, two days before the Opening Ceremony, with events in softball and women’s football.

As expected, both marathons and all three race walks will begin at 6am or earlier to avoid the worst of the heat of the Tokyo summer. The men’s 50km walk will start at 530am.

In addition, nine other athletics finals at the Olympic Stadium will take place during the morning sessions, allowing more of the global audience to watch in prime time in their regions.

"The Tokyo 2020 schedule is substantially different from our previous Olympic timetables, but will offer the vast majority of athletics fans attending the Games the opportunity to see Olympic medals being decided, with finals scheduled in 15 of the 17 sessions in the main stadium,’’ IAAF Competitions Director Paul Hardy said in a statement.

"Having finals in the morning, as requested by the International Olympic Committee, will enhance the visibility of athletics across all time zones. The stadium-based distance events remain in the evening sessions to reduce the risk of very hot conditions for our endurance athletes."

Athletics sessions at the Olympic Stadium begin on July 31 and end with the men’s marathon on August 9, the same day as the Closing Ceremony.

Swimming sessions featuring any finals will be held starting at 10:30 in the morning in Tokyo. The swimming competition begins on July 25 and ends on August 2.

The Men’s and women’s basketball gold medal games will begin at 1130am Tokyo time.

All of the finals in gymnastics, another marquee event, will be held in the evening, however.

Unlike Rio 2016, which featured midnight starts for beach volleyball matches and swimming and basketball sessions sometimes lasting until after midnight, all of the events for Tokyo 2020 are scheduled to be finished by 11pm.

The schedule announced Tuesday excludes the 13 boxing events, following the IOC Executive Board’s decision in December 2018 to temporarily freeze all planning for the boxing tournament for Tokyo 2020.

The final report of the IOC’s inquiry commission reviewing the suspended boxing federation AIBA is expected on May 22. But the IOC has refused to confirm that this is the date when it will decide whether AIBA will be allowed to host the Tokyo 2020 competition.

Written by Gerard Farek

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