This archive report was first published on 5 November 2019.
Published on November 5, 2019, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had ordered the move of the 2020 Olympic marathon and race-walking events from Tokyo to Sapporo due to hot and humid conditions at the world championships in Doha in September.
According to John Coates, head of the IOC's coordination commission, the decision was made to prioritize athlete health, stating, "The IOC was shocked by what we saw in Doha in very similar conditions in terms of temperature and humidity to what's expected here in Tokyo."
However, Kazunori Asaba, training chief of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF), expressed disappointment with the decision, saying it would be like telling athletes who had been training for years to climb Everest that they would have to climb a different mountain just nine months before the event.
Asaba argued that the decision "does not put athletes first in a real sense" and that from a training perspective, "athletes first" means not wasting their efforts.
On the other hand, JAAF marathon director Tadasu Kawano disagreed, stating that the athletes in Doha did not complain and tried their best, adding that "The athletes are not joining competitions to be protected."
