A group of Japanese doctors have today urged Olympic organisers to consider starting the Tokyo 2020 marathon as early as 5:30am, amid concerns about the extreme heat. The doctors have warned that failure to do so could easily “lead to deaths” from heatstroke.
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Despite the games being two years away, there have been a number of concerns raised about the extreme heat athletes could face, especially following the record heatwave that hit Tokyo this year.
Whilst the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Tokyo 2020 organisers have acknowledged these concerns, moving the marathon start time to 7:00am, doctors at the Japan Medical Association and Tokyo Medical Association are concerned this is not early enough.
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It has been reported in local press that Kimiyuki Nagashima, a senior official with the Japan Medical Association has said: “We are seriously concerned about it. If the risk of heatstroke is high for not only athletes but also staff members and the audience, there will be a rising demand for emergency services, which will have serious impact on medical institutions and regular patients.”
The associations are calling for the start time to be moved to 5:30am, and the presidents from both medical groups met with the head of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee to speak about the issue earlier this week.
At present, heat stroke kills hundreds of people each year across Japan, and hospitals saw a spike in fatalities during the heatwave this year.
When Japan last hosted the Olympics in 1964, the Games were moved to October to move the stifling summer humidity and heat.
