The host city for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Marathon was shifted from Tokyo to Sapporo as a precaution against the heat, while the decision was taken to make the event spectator-free due to the pandemic. The situation complicated direct transmission of the fans’ cheers to the athletes.

Surely there was a way to convey wayside encouragement to marathon runners.

NTT embarked upon an innovative experiment to turn remote cheers into firsthand support.

Runners dash by at a speed of 5 meters per second.

Even a 1-second time lag would leave Tokyo cheers meaningless.

This major issue of “time lag” was resolved with NTT’s ultra-low-latency communications technology.

Implementation of this technology become the key to connecting marathon runners in Sapporo and cheering supporters in Tokyo.

Cheers were conveyed to Sapporo in real time with no transmission-related processing delays.

NTT’s ultra-low-latency communications technology allowed large-capacity video shot by 8 cameras to be transmitted to the 50-meter LED monitor without compressing the video, thus eliminating processing delays.

This enabled real-time viewing of the marathon from Tokyo and instantaneous delivery of spectator cheers to the athletes.

Cries of delight from athletes and spectators alike were captured on multiple TV broadcasts.

The power of technology overcame restrictive circumstances, instantaneously uniting people’s thoughts and feelings.