The Tokyo marathon set for March 1 will only be held for elite runners and wheelchair elite after new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the 2020 Olympics host city, organisers said yesterday.
“It was a tough decision,” Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike told reporters. “I believe many people were looking forward to the marathon.”
The move means that from the originally 38,000 entered only 176 runners and 30 wheelchair athletes can participate in a fortnight.
“We apologize to all the general entry runners who felt joy at being selected, but these restrictions are unavoidable,” Koike said.
All those in the “general entry” category that can no longer participate could defer their entry to the 2021 race, a statement from organisers said.
“Now that case of COVID-19 (coronavirus) has been confirmed within Tokyo, we cannot continue to launch the event within the scale we originally anticipated,” the statement said.
“The Tokyo Marathon 2020 will be held only for the marathon elites and the wheelchair elites.”
Tokyo’s city government officials said on Sunday five more people were infected with the coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the capital to 19.
The Tokyo race made its debut as a World Marathon Major in 2013, the first in Asia and the world’s sixth race, joining Berlin, London, Boston, Chicago and New York.
The March 1 race is also a qualifier for the July 24-August 9 Olympics in Tokyo for which preparations continue as planned despite the outbreak, according to organisers and Olympic officials last week.
Japan is the worst-affected country outside China where the virus originated in December, with 517 confirmed cases, including one death and 454 on a cruise ship docked in Yokohama and in quarantine.
Also yesterday, Japan cancelled celebrations for the emperor’s birthday.
Various sports events have been postponed, relocated or cancelled in and outside China because of the outbreak which has been declared an emergency by the World Health Organisation.
China says more than 70,000 people have been infected so far with the virus, while the death toll has risen to 1,770 in that country.
from Gulf Times https://ift.tt/2SB5Avq
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