Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike reluctantly agreed Friday to support the International Olympic Committee's unilateral decision to move the 2020 marathon and race walking events to Sapporo over heat concerns.
"I considered putting up more of a fight but the chances of winning were slim," the governor said, adding that it is the athletes who would have to bear the burden of new courses and start times being arranged from scratch after the events are transferred to Hokkaido.
Koike's remarks came after she discussed heat countermeasures with IOC Coordination Commission Chairman John Coates, Tokyo Organising Committee President Yoshiro Mori and Olympic minister Seiko Hashimoto on the last day of a three-day meeting in Tokyo.