Nishinomiya, Hyogo Pref.

A group of 10 men and women is lucky enough to have been named Olympic torch relay runners for the 2020 Tokyo Games, five decades after missing what was then thought a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The runners, aged between 69 and 73, were chosen as Olympic torch relay members for the previous Tokyo Olympics in 1964 but could not run because of a typhoon.

This time, they will run as a group for about 200 meters in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, on May 25 next year, carrying the torch in turns.

One of the runners, Junya Mori, 73, was to run in Nishinomiya, Hyogo, in September 1964 as a torch relay member for the previous Tokyo Games when he was captain of the track and field team of Koyo Gakuin High School in the city.

But the relay for sections between Kobe of Hyogo and Osaka, including Mori’s, was canceled the night before because of the approaching typhoon. The next day, Mori visited the section he was supposed to run and saw off a car transporting the Olympic flame under the clear sky.

Mori's wish to run with the torch in his hand remained intact. He felt vexed every time the Olympic Games were held.

After Tokyo was selected as the host for the 2020 Games, some of his former classmates also chosen as 1964 torch relay members proposed starting an activity to pursue another opportunity. For this, graduates of the high school and others formed a group.

Some 670 people were affected by the 1964 cancellation, according to Mori. The group saw its members increase to some 150 after asking those who could be reached to join.

The 10 runners are members of the group. They were students of junior or senior high schools in Hyogo in 1964.

“I’m surprised that we’ve been given an opportunity to run. I'll run as hard as I can, and I'll also enjoy it,” Mori said.

Hiroshi Kondo, head of the group, 72, said he is thrilled to have been chosen as an Olympic torch runner. “I want to liven up the Tokyo Olympics with friends,” he said.

Jiji Press