Tokyo, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games is discussing to set an earlier start time of 6 a.m. for marathon races to avoid the extreme summer heat, according to kyodo news service on Wednesday.
The organizing committee hopes to move forward the start time of marathon one hour earlier than the previous 7 a.m.. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved the reschedule in July to set the start time at 7 a.m., half an hour earlier than initially slated in the bid for the Olympics.
The heatwave in 2018 has raised concerns that hot weather could pose health risks to the runners. Some more measures might be needed to solve the possible problems.
Marathon started at 6 a.m. at the Asian Games in Jakarta in August and the race began at 7:30 a.m. at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
The marathon for the Tokyo Olympics will be held on Aug. 2 for women and Aug. 9 for men.
