Canada-Sweden Olympic women's soccer final rescheduled due to extreme heat

The women’s Olympic gold medal soccer match between Canada and Sweden has been pushed back due to concerns over high temperatures.

The match was initially scheduled for 11 a.m. local time (10 p.m. eastern) at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium on Friday, but will now take place at 9 p.m. local time (8 a.m. eastern) at Yokohama to avoid the mid-day heat and allow track and field to take centre stage at the Olympic Stadium on Friday night.

Both Canada and Sweden had requested that the game be moved soon after their semifinal victories earlier this week, but the IOC said it was “not aware” of the request before changing the schedule on Thursday.

The brutal heat at the Tokyo Games has been a daily storyline. The projected temperature at the initially scheduled kickoff is 31 degrees celsius and could rise well above 40 due to the humidity. Temperatures reportedly reached up to 44 degrees celsius at a canoe event Thursday.

Canada made the women's soccer final in dramatic fashion, defeating the United States 1-0 for the first time since 2001 behind Jessie Fleming’s 74th minute winner from the penalty spot. It marks Canada’s first soccer appearance in an Olympic gold medal match. The women’s team claimed bronze at both the 2012 and 2016 Games.

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