IPC approve 19 venues for Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games

Three sports are yet to have their Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games venues confirmed ©Getty Images

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Governing Board have approved venues for 19 of the 22 sports due to take place at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, with track cycling, football five-a-side and powerlifting still under review.

Following the approval of the Tokyo 2020 venue masterplan at an IPC Governing Board meeting in Mexico City, athletics competition was confirmed for the Olympic Stadium which organisers are hoping will be completed in January 2020, despite the delay caused by scrapping the original design.

Swimming will take place at the Olympic Aquatics Centre, while archery is due to be held at Dream Island Archery Field.

Canoeing and rowing will be at the Sea Forest Waterway, with boccia set to be staged in the Olympic Gymnastic Centre.

Makuhari Messe, a convention centre in the city, is set to be a major hub for the Paralympics as it is due to stage goalball, sitting volleyball, wheelchair fencing and taekwondo, the latter making its debut at the Games having been added as a sport in January.

Yoyogi National Stadium will host another sport making its bow at the Paralympics with badminton having been confirmed.

The venue built for the Tokyo 1964 Olympics will also be the home to wheelchair rugby.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium and Ariake Tennis Park will reprise their roles from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics when they stage table tennis and wheelchair tennis at the Paralympic.s

Wheelchair basketball will be held nearby at the Ariake Arena, as well as the Musashino Forest Sport Centre.

As with the Olympics, equestrian and judo will be staged at Baji Koen and Nippon Budokan respectively.

Shooting will return to the Asaka Shooting Range and triathlon will take place in the Odaiba Marine Park.

The Makuhari Messe convention centre will stage four sports during the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics ©Getty Images

“I would like to thank Tokyo 2020 for taking the due diligence to review their venue masterplan and work with each individual international federation to ensure, where possible, that Paralympic events are held at the same venues as those used for the Olympic Games,” said Sir Philip Craven, President of the IPC.

“This new plan not only maximises the use of existing venues, in line with Olympic Agenda 2020, but also puts the interests of the athletes first.

“The approval of the majority of the Paralympic venues is another landmark in the organisation of what I am confident will be sensational Paralympic Games in 2020.”

Cycling was one of several sports impacted by changes made to the original Tokyo 2020 venue blueprint in February, as part of a bid to save an estimated $1 billion (£650 million/€890 million) and a solution of where to hold track cycling at both the Olympics and Paralympics is still yet to be made.

International Cycling Union (UCI) President Brian Cookson recently hinted that cycling events could be held in a velodrome in the city of Izu nearly 150 kilometres away from Japan’s capital city, despite previously claiming it would reduce the Olympic experience for athletes and fans due to the venue being too far away from Tokyo.

Football five-a-side and powerlifting are also set to have venues confirmed for the Paralympic Games but the IPC are confident they will be able to approve all sporting locations at their next IPC Governing Board meeting in April 2016.

“Since the Paralympic sports programme was confirmed, Tokyo 2020 has conducted a thorough review of its venue plan, with a firm commitment to achieving an athlete-first concept,” said Toshirō Mutō, Tokyo 2020 chief executive.

“Our overall venue concept places the athletes at the physical and inspirational centre of the Games in the heart of one of the world’s major cities.

“One of the guiding principles of the review has been to ensure that the venues also take into account the specific requirements of Paralympic sports.

“We will provide the optimal facilities and environment to enable Para-athletes to perform to the peak of their abilities and strive to achieve a personal best in Tokyo in 2020.”