Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) has reached an agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday on the direction of the ‘Celebration Marathon’ proposed by President Thomas Bach in November 2019.

Tokyo governor, Yuriko Koike said at a press conference that IOC and TMG have agreed, in order to leave a long-lasting legacy in Tokyo, a half marathon will be established in Autumn 2022 with the Tokyo Marathon Foundation, utilizing the marathon course used during the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

This event will make it easy for many runners including runners with disabilities to participate.

The first event will be held as the ‘Celebration Marathon’ in cooperation with the IOC that plans to support the race through inviting top athletes including Olympic medallists.

Further, IOC President Bach will be invited to attend the event to mark the legacy of the Games. Around the same dates, IOC will host events where Tokyo residents and particularly children can interact with top level athletes and celebrate the Olympic values.

IOC will make the ‘Celebration Marathon’ a place to express its gratitude to Tokyo residents for their support in the midst of the severe Corona pandemic.

Earlier in the day, leaders of five organizations related to the Tokyo Games on Wednesday delayed until June a decision on how many spectators will be allowed at the events.

They agreed to make the decision in accordance with Japanese general guidance concerning spectator capacity limits in domestic sports events to be held in June. The postponed Tokyo Olympics are set to open on July 23.

The agreement was reached in a videoconference among the officials of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics organizing committee, the Tokyo metropolitan government, the Japanese central government, the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee.