2020 Tokyo Olympics Marathon to Start at 6:00 a.m.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games organizing committee released the Games' official schedule on Apr. 16. The start times of the Aug. 2 women's marathon and Aug. 9 men's marathon have been moved from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. in an effort to mitigate the effects of extreme heat upon the athletes. The men's and women's 20 km race walks will likewise move an hour earlier from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m., while the men's 50 km race walk will begin at 5:30 a.m. rather than 6:00 a.m. as originally planned. The schedules for other events including soccer, open water events and triathlon have also changed out of concern for the impact of heat on athletes.

Softball is scheduled to begin on July 22 in Fukushima, two days before the opening ceremony. The Japanese team is expected to compete in the opening game. The first medal event will be the women's 10 m air rifle final on July 25. In athletics, the men's 100 m final will be on the evening of Aug. 2, with the 4x400 m relay finals set for the evening of Aug. 7.

Judo, where Japan is expected to be in contention for multiple medals, will begin with the lightweight division on the opening day of the Games on July 25. Wrestling will feature two men's weight classes and one women's each day, with the women's 57 kg division featuring Japan's Kaori Icho in her fifth-straight appearance set for Aug. 5-6. On the busiest day of the Games, Aug. 8 will see 30 gold medals handed out in sports including baseball, men's soccer and men's basketball.

The lottery for tickets for all events and the opening and closing ceremonies will open in May. The IOC will not include boxing on the program due to issues with the sport's international governing body and its readiness for the Olympics.

source article:
https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2019041600791&g=spo
translated and edited by Brett Larner