The water quality at the sprint canoe and rowing venue of the 2020 Tokyo Games is not up to Olympic standards, International Olympic Committee Vice President John Coates said Wednesday.
Speaking at an IOC Session, Coates, chair of the Coordination Commission for 2020, called it a "high priority" for organizers to fix the problem at Sea Forest Way, a target of Tokyo Gov.
Yuriko Koike’s cost-cutting mission two years ago.
Tokyo already had a water quality problem when Odaiba Marine Park, the venue for the marathon swimming and triathlon, failed a test last October, and it appears the issue has spilled over.
"They did some testing in the water and the water quality isn’t good enough," Coates told Kyodo News about the new issue.
"The problem in those sports is if you fall in the water and you’ve got a cut, you could (get infected).
IOC member and 2020 Coordination Commission vice chair Alex Gilady said a backup plan is necessary in case water quality control becomes difficult or impossible.
"We need to create Plan B if this happens in 2020.
So they are working on these options."
"…The filter may not be enough if there is too much rain, so we have to have Plan B."