Tokyo 2020 Stands by Original Rowing Venue

(ATR) Tokyo 2020 organizers are rejecting a government proposal to move the rowing venue to an existing facility 250 miles outside the host city.

The organizing committee updated its proposal on Oct. 12 to stage rowing at the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo Bay, sticking to its original bid plans.

Organizers say the decision was made after "thorough investigations" of all proposed sites that was conducted in 2014.

"As a result, all parties including the IOC, the international federations, the national federations, Tokyo 2020 organizing committee and the Tokyo metropolitan government came to the conclusion that Sea Forest Waterway was the most promising and best suited for the hosting of rowing competitions," Tokyo 2020 executive Toshiaki Endo said.

The proposal to move rowing 250 miles away to the Miyagi facility called Naganuma was made by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government at the end of September. It was part of a review of other venue proposals to curtail rising estimated costs of the Games that Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike claims could reach $30 billion.

The venues for basketball, cycling and taekwondo have already been moved outside of Tokyo for cost cutting measures, with cycling now scheduled to take place in Izu – 90 miles away from Tokyo.

Tokyo 2020 says the cost of the Sea Forest Waterway will be less than the original estimate and will be better suited to host rowing than the Naganuma. Organizers cite a lack of infrastructure and accommodation for spectators as well as the inconvenience for athletes traveling to Miyagi as reasons to stick with the Tokyo Bay location.

World Rowing president Jean-Christophe Rolland visited Tokyo amid the proposed change and expressed frustration with the potential move.

In a statement, FISA said the Naganuma venue would be more expensive and have less of a legacy impact following the Games due to its remote location from the rest of the venues.

The Governor of Miyagi prefecture Yoshihiro Murai visited with Tokyo 2020 Oct. 12 and said the region could overcome any challenges to host the event.

Despite Murai’s push to host the event in his region, Tokyo 2020 agrees with FISA’s reasons for maintaining the original plan, particularly for the sake of the athletes.

"Also, one of our most important principles is to 'put athletes first’," Endo said. "We do not want to cause any athletes competitive disadvantage because of the distance of the Naganuma site from Tokyo."

Tokyo Governor Koike will visit the Naganuma venue on Oct. 15 to examine the issues raised by Tokyo 2020 and the rowing federation.

Written by Kevin Nutley

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