The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, in turn worried about the hot weather expected during the Tokyo Olympics 2020, suggesting including staggering the starting time of the marathon.
Bach and IOC Vice-President John Coates discussed the issue at a meeting with Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike a few days before a meeting of the International Olympic Committee scheduled for Sunday. this week in the Japanese capital.
Bach said in particular that heat waves, such as those experienced this summer in the Tokyo capital, are "a source of concern for us" . To which Mrs Koike replied that this "problem would be firmly managed" without giving further details.
By the end of October, Japanese doctors had sounded the alarm, asking organizers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games to start the marathon earlier than expected, saying that the heat even in the morning could "lead to the death" of runners .
The Olympic marathon, which was supposed to start at 7.30am, has already been advanced by half an hour, at 7am by the organizers. But Coates, like doctors, believe that the kickoff should rather be given at 6:00 or 5:30.
Every year, the heat of summer in Japan is responsible for several hundred deaths. This summer, the country of the rising sun has recorded record temperatures of up to 40 degrees.