BREAKING - OLYMPIC MARATHONS AND RACE WALKS MOVED FROM TOKYO TO SAPPORO DUE TO HEAT FEAR

Just a thought - would the US do this for the LA Olympics if say it was requested to move the marathon to Seattle?

Wolf's Bane wrote:

Just a thought - would the US do this for the LA Olympics if say it was requested to move the marathon to Seattle?

All the LA Olympic track and field will be held in newly remodeled Historic Hayward field. Count it.

hokkaido marathon?

Wolf's Bane wrote:

Just a thought - would the US do this for the LA Olympics if say it was requested to move the marathon to Seattle?

Since the average low in August in LA is 10 degrees cooler than Tokyo it would never come up for discussion.

Work Commute Track Club wrote:

Prospective Olympic marathoners I have spoken to think this is stupid. You don't train your whole life to run the Olympic marathon that isn't held in the Olympic City.

You will be going to the Olympics - on a different island. In a different city. Away from all the events, hype.

You won't be staying with the rest of the track and field team.

It sucks.

no, it will be fine and they won't really know the difference. You realize most Olympics have events far from the host city right? I mean just think of downhill skiing in the winter Olympics...They are usually at least a couple hours away and from some Olympians i know, they had no complaints.

There will definitely still be crowds watching

You’re aware that about half of the 1984 Olympic Marathon was not held in Los Angeles aren’t you?

Wolf's Bane wrote:

Just a thought - would the US do this for the LA Olympics if say it was requested to move the marathon to Seattle?

Sapporo is 90 min flight from Tokyo, so a better analogy is whether LA olympics would host the marathon in San Francisco.

Shrug?

I guess add this to the list of reasons why there should be a limited number of host cities, with appropriate climates and infrastructure, that the games cycle through.

Exactly

It should be moved to Berlin.

It is the right move. Sapporo is a great city and will be a great venue for the marathon. And with a potential KB/Kipchoge showdown, it will be great that they can run an aggressive pace instead of just surviving.

Precious Roy wrote:

It is the right move. Sapporo is a great city and will be a great venue for the marathon. And with a potential KB/Kipchoge showdown, it will be great that they can run an aggressive pace instead of just surviving.

That is what WMMs are for. The Olympics are for heart warming imagery of people shitting themselves, spirited crowds encouraging dangerously dehydrated runners to finish, athletes running on broken bones... and Bob Costas narrating it all

sub sub elite local hobby jogger wrote:

I recall making this suggestion on a letsrun thread. Don't see my name mentioned, though.

This just in (film at eleven):

TO SATISFY A CERTAIN PERSON'S BRUISED EGO, THE POOR DEAR, THE TWO MARATHON RACES IN THE 2020 SUMMER OLYMPICS HAVE BEEN APPROPRIATELY RENAMED.

The women's race, to be run in Sapporo, Japan on Sunday, 2 August 2020, will be named THE SUB SUB ELITE LOCAL HOBBY JOGGER 2020 OLYMPIC WOMEN'S MARATHON.

The men's race, to be run in Sapporo, Japan on Sunday, 9 August 2020, will be named THE SUB SUB ELITE LOCAL HOBBY JOGGER 2020 OLYMPIC MEN'S MARATHON.

The complete name of each race will be embossed on the gold, silver, and bronze medals awarded, respectively, to the first-, second-, and third-place finishers of that race.

Also, the earlier they start the cooler it'll be.

Early morning start is early evening in the America's, late evening/early morning in Europe.

Sub sub SUB elite local hobby jogger wrote:

sub sub elite local hobby jogger wrote:

I recall making this suggestion on a letsrun thread. Don't see my name mentioned, though.

This just in (film at eleven):

TO SATISFY A CERTAIN PERSON'S BRUISED EGO, THE POOR DEAR, THE TWO MARATHON RACES IN THE 2020 SUMMER OLYMPICS HAVE BEEN APPROPRIATELY RENAMED.

The women's race, to be run in Sapporo, Japan on Sunday, 2 August 2020, will be named THE SUB SUB ELITE LOCAL HOBBY JOGGER 2020 OLYMPIC WOMEN'S MARATHON.

The men's race, to be run in Sapporo, Japan on Sunday, 9 August 2020, will be named THE SUB SUB ELITE LOCAL HOBBY JOGGER 2020 OLYMPIC MEN'S MARATHON.

The complete name of each race will be embossed on the gold, silver, and bronze medals awarded, respectively, to the first-, second-, and third-place finishers of that race.

Hmm, guess sarcasm does not translate well over the Internet for some folks.

team Unruly Bush wrote:

Precious Roy wrote:

It is the right move. Sapporo is a great city and will be a great venue for the marathon. And with a potential KB/Kipchoge showdown, it will be great that they can run an aggressive pace instead of just surviving.

That is what WMMs are for. The Olympics are for heart warming imagery of people shitting themselves, spirited crowds encouraging dangerously dehydrated runners to finish, athletes running on broken bones... and Bob Costas narrating it all

I'm a fan of all this except the Bob Costas part.

I think the Japanese have it covered getting people fairly quickly from on one big city to another, one the other hand....

In 2021 the worlds in Eugene will have regular commutes from Portland to Eugene which will take at a minimum 2 hours under the best of conditions. The promoters of Worlds neglected though to consider that the Woodburn Outlet Stores are holding a 5 day 90% off sale during the same time frame as Worlds. The stores are expecting 3.5-4 million "bargain shoppers" converging on Woodburn. Delays of unknown duration on I5 are expected and authorities say to plan accordingly. 99w and 99e may not be viable as Hubbard is installing multiple sewer pipes with 99 E having motorists follow pilot cars for 2 miles. In Dundee, on 99 W a new Indian Casino opens the same week as Worlds and "heaver the normal traffic is expected". Hopefully the worlds in Eugene will be broadcast live on radio.

I just watched a story about this on NHK World News. A final decision about a venue change won't be announced until October 30, after the IOC and the Tokyo organizing committee meet to discuss the logistics of moving the events

The Tokyo Olympics in 1964 didn't have these problems ... because they were held in October. The marathon could be held in Tokyo with no issues. My guess is they don't want the Olympics to compete with the NFL and the World Series for television. This wasn't really an issue 50+ years ago.

1964 vs 2020 wrote:

My guess is they don't want the Olympics to compete with the NFL and the World Series for television.

That's not just a guess. The NYT reported last week that any city hoping to host the Games had to promise the IOC that they'd be held in July-August for that very reason.

The Times claimed that that's been a requirement since 2000 because viewership of the 2000 Sydney Olys, which were held in from Sept. 15 to Oct. 1, was too low to keep NBC happy.