TOKYO (Reuters) - The Olympic marathon and race walking events during Tokyo 2020 Games will be moved to Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido from the originally planned Tokyo due to high temperatures, the International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday.
"The move to Hokkaido, the northern-most prefecture of Japan, will mean significantly lower temperatures for the athletes during the Olympic Games," the committee said on its website.
Organisers of next year's Tokyo Olympics had been looking for new ways to battle heat. Temperatures in Tokyo during July and August, when the city hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Games, commonly exceed 30 degrees Celsius, with high humidity adding to the discomfort.
(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by William Mallard)