The Tokyo team said today that 13 Japanese sporting greats, many of them former Olympic medalists, will join them for the trip to Denmark's capital, where the vote will be held during the IOC Session on October 2 where they will be the underdogs against Chicago, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro.

Ichiro Kono, the chairman and chief executive of the Tokyo bid, said: "We have been making efforts on the assumption that Prime Minister Hatoyama will join us.

"We would request that he comes.

"We realise he is busy right after taking office, but we need him on our team."
 

Hatoyama officially took office yesterday, and his staff said nothing had been decided about travel to Copenhagen.

Chicago's bid have so far been unable to persuade United States President Barack Obama to travel to the Danish capital.

He is sending his wife, the First Lady, Michelle, instead to represent him.
 

Seeking to drum up support for their bid, the Tokyo organisers are taking with them 13 Japanese athletes who have won 31 Olympic and Paralympic medals,  including 11 golds between them, over the years.

Among them is Mikako Kotani, a bronze medalist in synchronised swimming at the 1988 Seoul games who is also a member of the Tokyo bid Executive Board.
 

She said: "We're like team Japan.

"We'll go proudly and make our appeal for Tokyo to the IOC."

Others making the trip include Naoko Takahashi, winner of the women's marathon in 2000, Koji Murofushi, gold medallist in the hammer throw in Athens in 2004, and Shinji Morisue, a gold medalist in gymnastics in 1984.


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