Time changed for Sweden-Canada women's soccer gold medal game due to Tokyo heat

Aug. 5 (UPI) -- The 2020 Summer Games gold medal women's soccer match between Sweden and Canada will be pushed back 10 hours from its scheduled start time Friday due to extreme heat in Tokyo, Olympics officials said Thursday.

"To continue to provide the best possible conditions for the players, and having taken into consideration the impact of weather conditions at the Olympic Stadium over the last few days, it has been confirmed that this match will now take place at 9 p.m. [local time] at the International Stadium Yokohama," Organizers said in a statement.

American viewers can watch the women's gold medal match at 8 a.m. EDT Friday on USA.

Sweden and Canada requested that the game be moved earlier this week from its scheduled 11 a.m. local time start Friday at Tokyo's Olympic Stadium.

Afternoon temperatures in Tokyo continue to hover near the upper-90s.

Tokyo organizers changed the time for the men's soccer bronze medal match between Mexico and Japan in a corresponding move.

That game was scheduled for 8 p.m. local time Friday, but now will start at 6 p.m. local time Friday in Saitama. It will be broadcast at 5 a.m. EDT on USA.

The Canada women's team beat the United States Women's National Team 1-0 in the semifinals Monday in Kashima, Japan. Sweden advanced with a 1-0 semifinal win over Australia.

Brazil beat Mexico in a penalty shootout to advance to the men's gold medal match. Spain beat Japan 1-0 in the other men's semifinal.

Organizers delayed several events, including competitions in tennis, mountain biking and rugby, through the first 13 days of the Games due to heat.

Sebastien Racinais, a heat expert in the International Olympic Committee's Medical and Scientific Commission Games Group, reported Thursday that no cases of heat stroke have occurred among athletes at the Games.