IOC seeks to explain Olympic marathon move as Tokyo still hopes to retain race

The Tokyo 2020 organising committee is still hopeful that the marathon and race walking events at next year’s Olympic Games can take place in the Japanese capital, despite the International Olympic Committee maintaining that its decision to move the events to Sapporo is final.

The races are being relocated to the northern city to avoid the intense heat of Tokyo. Temperatures in Sapporo are up to six degrees cooler during the day in the Japanese summer.