In Latest Tokyo Olympics Scandal, Marathon Runs Out of Size Medium Finisher Shirts
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The Tokyo Summer Olympics, already beset by numerous snafus and scandals, faced another embarrassing setback today when athletes learned the event had run out of official Olympic Marathon Finisher shirts in men’s size medium.
“WTF?” wrote one exasperated marathoner on Twitter. “We’re ALL size medium! How does this happen?”
Others complained that they expected better from a race with a $175 nonrefundable entry fee.
“What are we paying for, exactly?” a British marathoner wrote in an Instagram post.
Organizers yet again found themselves in damage control mode, apologizing for the inconvenience and promising to mail finishers their shirts “as soon as possible following the event.” They cited supply chain issues for the shortage of medium shirts.
“We do have plenty of XLs,” they said in a statement published online, using the abbreviation for extra-large. “Which you could always use as a night shirt, for example.”
On a related note, rumors swirled that the Olympic Marathon’s finishers medals had not yet arrived in Tokyo as of Thursday afternoon. Those rumors could not be confirmed.
The women’s Olympic Marathon is scheduled for 6 a.m. Saturday, August 7 local time (2 p.m. Pacific, Friday, August 6, in the United States); the men’s, for 7 a.m. Sunday, August 8 local time (3 p.m. Pacific, Saturday, August 7, in the U.S.).
