This archive report was first published on 4 December 2019.
On December 4, 2019, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that the men's marathon at the Tokyo Olympics will be held in Sapporo's Odori Park, on the northern island of Hokkaido, to avoid the heat and humidity of the Japanese capital.
The decision was made to prioritize athletes' health and well-being, as stated by Kirsty Coventry, chair of the IOC's Athletes' Commission: "Athletes' health and well-being are always at the heart of our concerns, and the decision to move the marathon and race walk events to Sapporo shows how seriously we take such concerns."
The marathon and race walk events are now scheduled to be held on four consecutive days, from August 6-9, with the Olympics running from July 24.
The schedule for the events includes:
- August 6: Men's 20km race walk (10:30am)
- August 7: Men's 50km race walk (11:30pm); Women's 20km race walk (10:30am)
- August 8: Women's marathon (1:00am)
- August 9: Men's marathon (1:00am)
According to Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto, "We appreciate that, through the support of so many people, Sapporo Odori Park could be approved as a venue so quickly following the decision to move these events."
