IOC decides to move Tokyo 2020 marathon to Sapporo

The Tokyo 2020 marathon will be held in Sapporo, following a decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), according to media reports this Wednesday.

The organizers of this competition and the Metropolitan Government were instructed to organize the traditional 42 kilometers and 195 meters race, noted the newspaper Nikkan Sports.

The men's and women's events in this speciality will be held in two laps around the centre of Sapporo, and the route has yet to be agreed with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

The Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee and local government expressed their disagreement with the decision that comes just eight months before the Olympic opening ceremony on July 24.

The IOC, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, justified the measure based on concerns over athletes' health, as the average temperature in Sapporo is lower than that of Tokyo during the period of the Games.

Sapporo is located almost 833 kilometers from Tokyo, it is the capital of the mountainous island of Hokkaido in northern Japan, and in 1972 hosted the 11th Winter Olympics.