President Bach in Sapporo for women's marathon
IOC President Thomas Bach was in Sapporo on Saturday for the women's marathon. He was at the finish to cheer the runners home, joined by World Athletics President and IOC Member Sebastian Coe.
While in Sapporo, he visited the city's Olympic Museum and met a group of seven Japanese Olympians. He was accompanied by Olympian and President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee Hashimoto Seiko, and by the President of the Japanese Olympic Committee, IOC Member Yamashita Yasuhiro, who is also an Olympian.
The Olympic Museum is next to the ski jump facility that was used for the Olympic Winter Games Sapporo 1972, which celebrate their 50th anniversary next year. The delegation were also treated to a display of summer ski jumping by young athletes from the region.
In Sapporo, President Bach also met the Mayor of Sapporo, Akimoto Katsuhiro. They discussed the staging of the marathon and race walk events, which the Mayor thanked the IOC for moving to Sapporo. He said it had made the residents very proud.
President Bach thanked him for taking responsibility for the rearrangement, and for the excellent organisation and staging of the events in Sapporo, which he said had taken place smoothly and without any issues.
The marathon and race walk events were moved to the northern island of Hokkaido, where average temperatures and humidity are lower than in Tokyo. This was part of the extensive heat countermeasures taken during the Games to ensure the health and safety of all the competitors.