Coronavirus: Tokyo Marathon Confirms Cancellation Of General Public Entry
The Tokyo Marathon organizers announced here on Monday that there will be no general public participation because of the coronavirus outbreak
Tuesday 18 February 2020 | 14:28
Runners started from the Tokyo metropolitan government building during the Tokyo Marathon on Feb. 22, 2015 with the participation of about 36,000 people in this annual sports event. (Xinhua/Stringer)
The Tokyo Marathon organizers announced here on Monday that there will be no general public participation because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Organizers said in a statement that the event, which is scheduled on March 1 with 38,000 registered runners, will be held "only for the marathon elites and the wheelchair elites."
That means that those in the "general participants" category will not be permitted to run.
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The statement said: "Now that a case of COVID-19 (coronavirus) has been confirmed within Tokyo, we cannot continue to launch the event within the scale we originally anticipated."
Runners competed in the Tokyo Marathon on Feb. 22, 2015 when about 36,000 people participated in this annual sports event. (Xinhua/Stringer)
The decision was a shock for the marathon world because a total of 11 marathons were just held across Japan on Sunday.
The Tokyo Marathon doubles as a qualifier for the 2020 Games, and runners will be chasing the final spot on the men's Olympic marathon team. Japan men's marathon record holder Suguru Osako and past national record holder Yuta Shitara are among invitees to the race's elite category.
