"Tokyo 2020 golf must be moved because of heat, politician tells IOC"
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Reuters’ Andrew Both obtained a letter that “well-known” Japanese politician Shigefumi Matsuzawa has written to the IOC calling for the 2020 Olympic golf venue—Kasumigaseki—changed due to the likelihood of deadly heat waves.
Matsuzawa said his concern was not only for the golfers but for volunteers and spectators without clubhouse access who, he wrote, would have nowhere to escape the heat and humidity.
The average temperature over the past three years during the scheduled competition dates -- July 30 to Aug. 2 for men and Aug. 5 to 8 for women -- had been 31.7 degrees Celsius (89F), he wrote.
Extrapolating from past figures, Matsuzawa estimated that up to 1,250 people could suffer from heat stroke during the eight days of the golf competition.
"Ambulances and hospitals will be unable to cope and with heat stroke patients collapsing one after the other, the possibility of fatalities occurring cannot be ruled out," he added.
Matsuzawa recommended several possible replacement venues, including Wakasu Golf Links adjacent to Tokyo Bay or the mountain regions of Hakone and Nagano. Wakasu has been mentioned before and appears to lack the yardage or practice facilities necessary today.
