Tokyo 2020, IOC Face Off on Marathon

(ATR) After working in harmony for the past six years, the IOC and Tokyo 2020 finally have a public conflict to settle.

The sudden switch of the marathon and race walk events from Tokyo to Sapporo has thrown the careful planning of Tokyo organizers into unexpected confusion.

The venue change will be one of the key items on the agenda of this week’s visit of the IOC Coordination Commission for Tokyo 2020.

Earlier this month the IOC unilaterally announced the venue change to avoid heat-related health issues. Temperatures in Sapporo, 800km north of Tokyo and the host of the 1972 Winter Olympics, would be from 5c to 8c cooler than Tokyo.

IOC CoComm chair John Coates tells Around the Rings that the move was forced by the experience of the just ended Athletics World Championships in Doha. Athletes by the dozen crashed out of the men’s and women’s marathon, despite starting at midnight.

Tokyo Metropolitan Governor Yuriko Koike is still hoping to keep the road racing in Tokyo. She complains that Tokyo was not consulted about the move. She says adjustments to the timing of the events will avoid the health threat to athletes.

Tokyo 2020 organizers have already moved the start time of the marathon to 0600, an hourafter sunrise. They say they are prepared to move to an 0500 or earlier start if that’s what’s needed to keep the two marathons and the race walking in Tokyo.

Coates says a substantial portion of this week’s meeting will be devoted to updates on measures to counter the heat threat across the Olympics and the Paralympics. A meeting between Coates and the Tokyo governor is planned for Friday.

While pride is at stake in resisting a move to Sapporo, Tokyo organizers are worried about covering the costs of such a move, reported to be in the range of $350 million. The IOC is probably on the hook for most of the costs for a move to Sapporo.

The IOC CoComm will begin its visit Wednesday morning with a visit to the new field hockey venue at the Oi Sports Center. It’s the only venue inspection that the commission will make on this visit. This CoComm visit will be the first with new Olympics minister Seiko Hashimoto.

Coates will lead a press conference on the visit Friday afternoon.

New Gymnastics Venue

The Ariake Gymnastics Center is unveiled Tuesday in central Tokyo. The futuristic wooden arena cost $188 million to build.

The venue is supposed to look like "a wooden bowl, floating in the bay".

The 12,000 seat arena will be turned into a conference center after the Olympics. It is one of just a handful of new venues built for the Games.

Reported by Ed Hula.