As was the case with the eventing at the 2008 Olympics in Hong Kong, the cross-country course for the 2020 Tokyo Games is being shortened due to horse welfare concerns. The route will be 4,500 meters instead of the regulation 5,700 meters, with eight minutes instead of 10 the optimum time.
August in that part of the world is extremely hot and humid. In Hong Kong, the optimum time was also eight minutes, and none of the horses made it, even though eventing caught a break when that segment was held on an overcast day instead of in bright sunshine.
The plan is for the Tokyo competition is to finish by 11 a.m., after which time the potential is for the highest Wet Bulb Globe Temperature readings (a measure of the heat stress in direct sunlight, which takes into account temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle and cloud cover.)
But have you ever been to a major eventing competition where there wasn’t a delay of some sort on cross-country due to a fall or other mishap? Even shortening the optimum time might not be able to beat the 11 a.m. witching hour. In an effort to avoid that, the start for the Tokyo cross-country will be earlier than originally scheduled, to between 7:30 and 8 a.m., with an announcement of the exact time expected in January.
The decision was made in view of findings from the 2019 Olympic test event.
“The welfare of both human and equine athletes is at the heart of the FEI’s decision-making process and these decisions have been taken to allow competing nations to optimize their performances in the Tokyo summer climate,” according to a statement from the FEI (International Equestrian Federation).
Summer heat, which led to more than 50 deaths in Tokyo in 2019, has made for some big changes in the Games. The marathon and walking race, for instance, are being moved 500 miles north as a way of easing conditions for those competitors.
Two sessions of eventing dressage run from 8-11:10 a.m., but all the other equestrian competitions start no earlier than 5 p.m. and run into the night. Everything is being held inland at the main equestrian venue except cross-country, which is at the Sea Forest location on the water.