Second Half of Sapporo Olympic Marathon Course to be Two Laps of 10 km Loop

Moved from Tokyo to Sapporo, the 2020 Olympic marathon course was fixed Dec. 18 with its previously undetermined second half to consist of two laps of a 10 km loop. World Athletics approved of the plan, which has runners doing laps of the northern half of the 20 km first half of the course. The Olympic Organizing Committee will formally announce the course on Dec. 19.

World Athletics and the Organizing Committee had been butting heads over what to do about the last 22.195 km of the course, with the international group insisting on three laps of a 7 km loop and the organizers wanting to run the 20 km first loop a second time. As a compromise, the organizers suggested the two-lap 10 km route. The 10 km loop largely overlaps with the already established 20 km first half and has the advantage of reducing preparation and management costs compared to World Athletics' 7 km loop plan.

source article:
https://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/20191219/ath19121905010001-n1.html
translated by Brett Larner