IOC stands firm on plan to move 2020 marathon to Sapporo

TOKYO The International Olympic Commission will not change its decision to move the 2020 marathon to Sapporo to avoid the heat, a top Tokyo Olympics planning official said on Friday, despite pleas from Tokyo’s governor to keep the race in the capital.

The announcement came in the latest round of an unusually public spat between host city Tokyo and the IOC over the prestigious race after the IOC announced last week, fewer than 300 days before the games, that it wanted to move the marathon and race walks to Sapporo, on Hokkaido island, due to concerns over Tokyo’s summer heat.

John Coates, the IOC’S co-ordination commission chief for the Tokyo Games, said at the start of a meeting with Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike that the IOC was standing firm on its decision, citing the hot and humid conditions at a marathon in Doha in September that puts the athletes at risk.

“We are aware of the disappointment of the people of Tokyo,” Coates was quoted by NHK national broadcaster as saying.

He said the IOC would consider measures in return, such as holding the medals ceremony for the marathon in Tokyo.

Koike had earlier on Friday demanded a detailed explanation of the IOC’S decision and said the Japanese capital was ready to make further adjustments, including changing the time and the route, to keep the race.

The route for the marathon — a flagship event set for Aug. 9, the last day of the Games — had been designed to include and showcase many of Tokyo’s landmarks.

Temperatures in Tokyo during July and August, when the city hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Games, often exceed 30 C, with high humidity. The IOC said temperatures in Sapporo are as much as five to six degrees cooler during the day.