Skip to main content

Tokyo Olympics Marathon Course To Be Measured By End of Year, Test Event Planned

At a press conference in Sapporo on June 23, the organizing committee of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games announced plans to have the Olympic marathon course in Sapporo measured and certified before the end of the year. The announcement marked a return to preparation for the Olympics, which had been suspended due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

The organizers also plan to stage a test event on the course next year at some point from March through May. Organizing committee executive Yoshiro Mori commented, "Whether it will be a half or full marathon is still a topic for discussion." City officials have responded positively to requests for use of Ohori Park and other locations, and confirmed that road work on the marathon course is expected to be mostly completed in July this year.

source article:
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/5f32081ac224265b8564fa6bcb33e2088caa20b0
translated by Brett Larner

Buy Me A Coffee

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Police Arrest 20-Year-Old Man Charged With Assaulting Female Runner at Popular Tokyo Running Spot

A 20-year-old man has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a female runner along the banks of the Tama River in Ota Ward, Tokyo. "I've been stuck at home because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to go for a walk and move my body a bit," the man told police. Local resident Hirai Muroyama , 20, of no known occupation, was arrested on charges of sexual assault. He is accused of acts including grabbing the breasts of a woman in her 20s at around 10 p.m. on May 31 along the banks of the Tama River. According to police, the woman was taking a break in her run when Muroyama approached her silently from behind and grabbed her breasts before running away. Under police interrogation Muroyama told investigators, "I've been stuck at home because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to go out for a walk and move my body. I'd had a few drinks and was feeling pretty hype. She was totally my type." source article: https://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newsey

New 800 m U20 Record Holder Ko Ochiai Targeting NR and Paris - "I'll Go For It Even If There's Almost No Chance"

Earlier this month at the Shizuoka International Meet, Shiga Gakuen H.S. 3rd-year Ko Ochiai and Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S. 2nd-year Rin Kubo won the men's and women's 800 m races. Both outran older and more experienced athletes to score 1st, but Ochiai's win was especially notable. His time of 1:46.54 bettered both the U20 and high school Japanese records set by Allon Clay when he was a student at Soyo H.S. "I was going for the records," said Ochiai. "I wanted to race some good college and corporate league people to get the best experience I could before the National Championships." At last October's Yogibo Athletics Challenge meet in Niigata Ochiai had gone out with a similar pace. "I ran according to plan and didn't have to rush it," he said. Over the winter he focused on improving both speed and stamina. "I had a lot left in the tank. With 300 m to go I couldn't move last time, but this time I had enough left to kick over

Takuma Sunaoka Joins Sumitomo Denko Corporate Team

The Sumitomo Denko corporate team has announced that Takuma Sunaoka has joined its men's long distance program. Sunaoka, 24, is a native of Tokyo. At Saitama's Seibo Gakuen H.S. he didn't make a mark at the national level but ran a respectable 14:14.75 for 5000 m. After entering Josai University he began to improve, and during his third year there he made his collegiate ekiden debut at the National University Men's Ekiden. Placing an excellent 2nd on the 1st leg in that run, he was put on the 1st leg two months later at the Hakone Ekiden, where he ran well for 7th. In December, 2021 at the Edion Distance Challenge he ran 13:19.96 for 5000 m, at the time the 2nd-fastest ever by a Japanese-born collegiate runner, and attracted attention for his track speed. Sunaoka was recruited by the Konica Minolta corporate team after graduating, and in January this year was 3rd on the New Year Ekiden 1st leg. At the end of March he quit Konica Minolta and started training at Josa