Koike gives reluctant consent to Olympic race venue move but Tokyo won't pay for it

Good for her deciding not to pay for it.

what a mess. and less than a year to go. I thought Japan generally had dropped the ball but it seems that the real imbeciles are the Olympic Committee members. What a bunch of idiots.

The picture says it all

Good for her, I like her she's a tough cookie.!

Look at that expression, well, unfortunately the IOC has the last word, tough concept for some people. The IOC are correct, some people just hate to be wrong.

We'll build a great course in Sapporo, and make them pay for it!

“We are behind Koike, firmly, as long as it takes.”

You haven’t ‘got her back’; instead, you’re standing a long way behind, leaving her out to dry for Japan’s monumental screw up touting mid August as a time of mild weather, peak conditions for athletes to perform at their best.

That photo is a classic! She does not look happy at all!

Look at that expression, well, unfortunately the IOC has the last word, tough concept for some people. The IOC are correct, some people just hate to be wrong.

IOC changes its mind at the last second and they are somehow geniuses now? They are simply trying to cover their asses. Coates is a bumbling old man.

Who is going to pay for this?

Sapporo?

I doubt it.

IOC?

Not a chance!!

They will never open their own check book!!

DisillusionedToday 04:43 pm JST

That photo is a classic! She does not look happy at all!

With that dude looking like trying to intimidate her, get that hand out of there sir !

koike chan gave up...

So, it is no longer the Tokyo Olympics, we will have to call it the Japan Olympics.

The face says it all, don't touch!

IOC member John Coates is a silly condensing irreverent little man, remove your hand.f ool

It is time for Athens to host the Olympics permanently and another city to host the Winter games every four years......any suggestions?I go for Lake Placid.

I mean condescending, I am quite angry frankly Look at the fool get your hand of Tokyo mayor idiot fool.

the koike face says are you serious?

Koike finally understood the word ‘no’

Good. Now she might learn she isn't in control. That photo is a classic, she needs to grow up

Not much choice she had in the matter, but if Tokyo is not fronting the costs, who is?

I must say it is best to just leave the Olympics in Greece which is the original beginnings. The games should stay to track n field events, (i.e. running, long jump, shot put, javelin), boxing, martial arts, horse races, and basketball and gymnastics as the equestrian events. Keeping it simple and traditional has always worked best unlike to day with all the complications and enormous costs.

If Koike made any effort to run it at night they wouldn't have this mess.

"It's a decision without agreement."

Typical Japanese business/ political comment. The IOC had to step in because it was obvious there is a risk running a marathon in those temperatures.

I hope Sapporo does not pay for either.

I find it outrageous that the IOC just decides a city should take on such an expense without even asking them. Pompous apparachiks.

When Tokyo hosted the Summer Olympics in 1964, they were held in October — an option no longer possible due to international sports schedules.

It should read "- an option no longer possible due to American network TV schedules."

How much does it cost to run around city streets?

Answer: Sapporo can also take the tv, merchandise, & ticket sales revenue.

If Koike is complaining about costs, fine. Refund Tokyo the costs but also remember to redirect their revenue to Sapporo.

That'll shut her up.

rgcivilian1, “keep it simple and traditional” so the Hopliteodromia is back in? ( a race in Hoplite armour)

I fear they are all slowly learning the folly of awarding the games to a location and time of year so inconducive to vigorous activity.

So much egos all crammed into such a small photo frame.

II'm pop corn ready waiting for the next saga, like not enough landing slot to bring all the snouts north and back again for the medal ceremony.

Coates looks like a hen pecked husband in the picture afraid of Koike. Glad he stayed firm.

Olympics is marathon and marathon is Olympics.

Why not move the whole olympics to Sapporo?

Doha is not Tokyo from all aspects of heat to technology.

The olympians are aware of the conditions, they prepare for this life time event.

Olympic marathon is not supossed to be like the #1:59 challenge# thing.

The photo rocks. I reckon she is saying "Never in a million years".

How about moving the start date of the Olympics to mid-October and keeping all events in Tokyo?

If looks could kill. Koike doesn't look very happy in the photo above.

Political power show off, like a chicken fight over nothing.

Diplomacy would have been much better and wiser as a venue to be used by all sides here.

With her attitude she proved her self to be a dangerous politician who would risk to much to save face.

This sort of politics never harbors any good fruits, only devastation.

I think this unmasks the IOC even further and will have great influence on cities considering whether they should host the Olympics or not. Without communication and cooperation the IOC may be left hosting in the only country that still seems interested - China.

John Coates mansplaining! Wow talk about sexist

The IOC member should not be making a move on Tokyo's Governor - poor manners,  . . .

. . . when I was an Int'l Athlete . . . Moscow '80, I had to play by the host leader's rules, or leave . . . . I choose the later.

I run marathons all the time - I just don't pay for them. I plot out a course on Google Maps and ger water from houses along the way It isn't rocket science. Of course, this willl require much organization, but likely less than would have been required in Tokyo. I'm more worried about the spectators than the athletics.

Good for her deciding not to pay for it.

Either way, taxpayers pay for it. It's just a heads I win, tails you lose situation at best.

saw the news, Coates face was so gloomy while he was saying that the IOC will start planning how much money is needed to prepare Sapporo marathon knowing that Tokyo won't be paying a dime. I was laughing so hard.

n option no longer possible due to American network TV schedules."

Incorrect. FIFA, FIBA, and even NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball) as well as plenty of other organizations made the same comments. MLB and NPB both flat out stated that if the Games were held in October, they would not let their players participate since it would affect both the MLB playoffs and the Japan Series.

So to say it was just 'American' is jingoistic and flat out wrong.

Narcissist hate to lose.

Hello Kitty 321 wrote

So, it is no longer the Tokyo Olympics, we will have to call it the Japan Olympics.

If you're trying to say this because some events (not only marathon but also "soccer" - please call it "football", folks - was mentioned in the article) are going to happen outside Tokyo, you should know that in some past Olympic games, some events have taken place outside the host city.

An example was 'Rio de Janeiro 2016', with many football matches played outside Rio, even far away in the north or south. Also 'Barcelona 1992', and I'm not sure but I suppose many other Olympic games, because one single city simply can't hold that many sport matches in the period of two weeks. It's insane to expect that. And the infrastructure to hold everything.

The problem this time is that marathon in considered a main event, and as such it was expected to happen in the host city or at least in a city nearby... (talking about that, was Nagano prefecture actually considered for the marathon? Karuizawa, which even has a bullet train for Tokyo, has almost the same average temperatures as Sapporo during July and August, plus plenty of nature, which means it could actually feels cooler than Sapporo)

The rules for a Marathon race are quite simple: 42.195 kilometres on a relatively flat road.

Except if you are targeting a new world record and as long as the roads have no major defects or potholes there is no need for major spendings.

The number of 100 of millions to organise an olympic marathon just make me very perplex.

I am waiting for the snow.

I am out of here for summer 2020 now.. for the 10th year in a row now.

The marathon was going right past my balcony.... so my daughter may have liked to see, like the February Tokyo Marathon

Thankfully no need to stay In the disgusting concrete jungle of Tokyo in summer whilst the extreme heat adds mayhem of the Olympics which will cause more problems for any normal day time routine for the average pleb.

I have worked at Olympics before, including Nagano...

I started serious running in the United Arab Emirates, just along the Gulf from Qatar. In summer temperatures reached 50˚C and humidity was close to 100%. We ran in the late afternoon or early morning.

In winter, daytime maximum temperatures went town to 35˚C and humidity went down to 75% - those are the midsummers conditions in Tokyo.

Quite apart from the folly of the IOC demanding such significant changes at such a late stage, if the Tokyo Olympics organizers had done their work properly, they would have produced a "Risk Analysis" document that the IOC would have to sign off in advance, showing the risk mitigation measures for climate conditions.

Remember, high temperatures do not kill marathon runners. Dehydration does, as it did for the first ever Marathon runner in ancient Greece. And given the IOC's bumbling efforts, there is still a chance that unprepared athletes will suffer from dehydration in Hokkaido.

I'm sure that there's another Country willing to take on the Marathon instead of Japan. This would be unprecedented and an embarrassment too all.

I saw the video of this. Koike let Coates kiss her on the cheek left and right like how Europeans greet each other.

I hope NOW Sapporo comes out & says they are fine to host but don't have the funds to put on the marathon!!!!!

And it is still highly likely that athletes will be on tv & have problems with the heat in Tokyo & those DOHA IMAGES will emerge...…. or will they..... I wouldn't be surprised if the IOC ends up putting a DELAY on "live feed" just in case ….if you know what I mean, the IOC is EXTREMELY controlling so I would NOT rule this out!!

Koike gave in, even before the game started, she surrendered herself to the man. The short lived fight was fake. There was no real resistance. Moon is smiling...

God bless Japanese that IOC wouldn't repeat this second time.

I support her decision to finally let the marathon be at Sapporo. It was a good move on her part, even know that she was definitely being a pain for being so stubborn.

And what? Do some of you want athletes to pass out During a severe heat wave next year or something? Yeah, that would be a great way to promote Japan, as well as international competition! LOL

The Governor Koike tried. Now the northern territories will have some games.

At least Tokyo won't pay for this pathetic move, ** IOC..**

the IOC clearly stated that today, Sapporo and the government will likely pay for it and Im sure the IOC will give them some of the advertisement funding since theyre paying for it and not Tokyo. cant have your cake and it too.

I support her decision to finally let the marathon be at Sapporo.

No she gave in because the IOC has final say in these matters as written in the contract. Tokyo signed the contract with the IOC upon winning the games and they are legally binded to that contract

God bless Japanese that IOC wouldn't repeat this second time.

yes god bless Japan that they abide by the contract they signed with the IOC, lets hope they wont repeat

breaking that contract which clearly states the IOC has final say in these matters of athletes safety and where events should be staged. Koike may want to read that contract one more time to avoid any future disagreements.

I saw the video of this. Koike let Coates kiss her on the cheek left and right like how Europeans greet each other.

just like he bowed too her , probably too low. people respect each others customs. foreigners bow to Japanese sometimes kiss on each check or even shake each others hands. its a mutual show of respect

 IOC will start planning how much money is needed to prepare Sapporo marathon knowing that Tokyo won't be paying a dime. I was laughing so hard.

yep Im sure all those $billions in broadcast rights and advertising revenue will cover it , Sapporo will likely get some of that revenue since they be paying for the marathon and not Tokyo, IOC gets a large part of this revenue, it wont be a problem. Just think now we can actually call it Japan's Olympics and not just Tokyo afterall all of Japan will be paying for it for years to come. Just think the marathon winner will cross the finish line in Sapporo lol

It's a good result for the athletes perhaps, but I bet it means the national taxpayer has to pay.

Sapporo is already trying for the Winter Olympics for about ten years time. It will be another 30 billion USD for a party that will leave Hokkaido with super expensive facilities that no-one will use. Look at what happened the last two Winter Olympics. The "success" of this marathon must not be used to further Sapporo's Olympic bid. No more Olympics in Japan!

Do some of you want athletes to pass out During a severe heat wave next year or something?

It's not the athletes that I'm worried about. They'll be well hydrated, in peak athletic condition, knowing ahead of time the conditions they'll be racing in. For the most part, they'll be fine - it's a challenge.

It's the spectators that are a worry. Average people, many out of shape, most not in any kind of exercise, standing for hours in the Japanese heat and humidity. Many will be from overseas with no experience of Japanese summers. The spectators are the ones who will suffer, and that will look bad for Japan.

Moving it to Hokkaido was a good move. But they never should have had the games in August in Japan in the first place. That was a silly idea.

Her face says it all, I wonder if its something like, carry on touching my are your going to get a slap!

This is what lies and bribes get you.

This debacle is a metaphor for how things operate in Japan. The Japanese resist change, even if its in their best interests, but will change if there is enough pressure from external forces.

Koike gave nothing-she had no say in the matter!