Tokyo officials feud with IOC over Olympic marathon switch

Tokyo city officials are in a public feud with the International Olympic Committee over IOC plans made without consulting the city or local organizers to move next year's Tokyo Olympic marathons 800 kilometers (500 miles) north to Sapporo to avoid the capital's summer heat.

The abrupt decision to shift the marathons and race walks was announced almost two weeks ago by the IOC.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is angry about it. Her allies say no change is needed and have raised questions about who will pay if the move goes through, and have not ruled out a lawsuit to recover damages.

Taro Shirato and Hiroshi Yamada, members of Koike's political party in the metropolitan legislature, told a news conference Tuesday that moving the marathon would cost at least $34 billion yen, about $310 million.

The IOC said it's making the change, thinking first of athletes' safety from Tokyo's blistering summer heat.

Koike's allies offered a different take. Koike is one of Japan's most influential politicians and just a few years ago was viewed as a potential candidate for prime minister. And she's miffed about not being consulted.

"Although they (IOC) talk about so-called athletes first, this can only be perceived as IOC first," Shirato said through an interpreter.

"You get the sense that no considerations have been made for the athletes," Shirato added, "or the spectators who had already bought their tickets and who were looking forward to these events, or the potential spectators who will be cheering on the streets, and also to the people involved in the operation."
Yamada described the starting temperatures in Tokyo and Sapporo "on a par."
"We do recognize and understand that the heat is a very important factor, but we do not believe that at this moment it represents an overly excessive risk."