Tokyo 2020 marathon, race walking routes announced

Tokyo, May 31 (IANS) The organising committee of the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 on Thursday announced the routes for its marathon, and 20km and 50km race walk events, which are set to pass through some of the iconic landmarks of the Japanese capital.

The marathon course will start and finish at the Olympic Stadium and pass through symbolic Tokyo landmarks, including the Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) in Asakusa, the Imperial Palace, Ginza's upmarket Chuo Street, the Zojoji temple, with the iconic Tokyo Tower as a backdrop, and Nihonbashi Bridge, the historic centre of the Japanese capital, reports Efe.

Athletes would run the final stretch of the marathon leading to the Olympic Stadium uphill, while the 20 and 50 km race walk would take place in the Outer Gardens of the Imperial Palace and near the Tokyo Station, an area which has recently been renovated.

"It is really exciting to imagine just two years from now the side streets along the Tokyo 2020 marathon and race walk route would be filled with countless fans. I look forward to seeing some great performances from the runners, who will be encouraged by those fans lining the route. They will be memorable races," Naoko Takahashi, marathon gold medallist at the 2000 Sydney Games said in a statement by the organisers.

The Tokyo Olympic and Paralympics Games are scheduled to be held in the Japanese capital between July 24 and August 9, and from August 25 to September 6, 2020, respectively.