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2020 Tokyo marathon only for elite runners after coronavirus case confirmed
The Tokyo Marathon 2020 is only to be open for elite runners and wheelchair athletes, while the races in the remaining regular categories are to be postponed until the 2021 edition.
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Participants run the Tokyo Marathon on March 3, 2019. (AFP/Behrouz Mehri)
O
rganizers of the 2020 Tokyo Marathon have announced a change of plans for running the annual event because of a recent update on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in Japan.
"Tokyo Marathon Foundation has been preparing for the Tokyo Marathon 2020 [on] Sunday, March 1 while implementing preventive safety measures. However, now that a case of COVID-19 has been confirmed within Tokyo, we cannot continue to launch the event with the scale we originally anticipated," the organizers said in the announcement posted on the event's official website, marathon.tokyo, on Monday.
The Tokyo Marathon 2020 is only to be open for elite runners and wheelchair athletes, while the races in the remaining regular categories are to be postponed until the 2021 edition.
The organizers said they would allow registered runners in the semi-elite, general, charity and 10-kilometer categories to defer their entry until the Tokyo Marathon 2021.
Runners who have deferred entry until the Tokyo Marathon 2021 are required to pay the entry fees for the 2021 event. However, according to the event's regulations as cited on the official website, the entry fees and donations received for the Tokyo Marathon 2020 will not be refunded. The cost of registration for non-Japanese starts at 6,700 yen (US$61) for the 10K and rises to 18,200 yen for the marathon.
The organizers say future decisions are subject to change depending on circumstances.
Read also: If you're thinking of running a marathon this year, it could be good for your heart
The Tokyo Marathon is a World Athletics Platinum Label marathon and one of the six World Marathon Majors.
The World Health Organization has warned against a global over-reaction to the new coronavirus epidemic following panic-buying, event cancellations and concerns about cruise ship travel, as China's official death toll neared 1,900 on Tuesday, AFP reported.
Meanwhile, three Indonesian crew members aboard the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship anchored off the coast of Japan have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease resulting from the coronavirus, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi has confirmed.
On Tuesday, Japan confirmed that 446 people aboard the ship had tested positive for COVID-19, Retno said. (nkn)
