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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 1:52 a.m., Friday, December 19, 2008

Olympics: Tokyo finalizes venue plans for 2016 bid

Associated Press

TOKYO — Tokyo's bid committee has finalized its venue plans for the 2016 Olympics, promising a compact games of tightly grouped venues.

Among the plans that were announced by the bid committee on Thursday was a marathon course that will begin at National Stadium — the main stadium for the 1964 Olympics — and finish at the new 2016 Olympic Stadium on Tokyo's waterfront.

The aquatics venue, originally designed to be temporary, will be permanent under the final plan.

"I am delighted that we have finalized our venue plans," said Ichiro Kono, chairman and CEO of Tokyo 2016. "The new developments of our plan are very exciting, especially the plans that ensure that legacy is at the heart of Tokyo's 2016 plans."

Under the plan, nearly all training facilities will be within 30 minutes of the Olympic Village and competition venues will all be within five miles of the main stadium.

Only five of the 34 venues in the completed plans will be built specifically for the Olympics.