Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir won a gruelling women's marathon and the United States are looking to extend their men's basketball reign as the Tokyo Olympics heads into its busiest day on Saturday.

Jepchirchir timed 2hr 27min 20sec as runners battled with hot and humid conditions in Sapporo, north of Tokyo, despite the race starting an hour early to reduce heat stress.

"If we'd started at 7:00 am, by the finish after 9:00 am it would have been too hot for us," Jepchirchir said.

"When I heard that (the start time) was changed (to 6:00 am) I was so happy. I said: 'Wow, that's nice'."

Athletes have contended with searing summer heat in Tokyo and Sapporo at this most unusual Olympics, where fans are banned from nearly all events over coronavirus risks.

The postponed 2020 Games veered close to cancellation as the pandemic advanced but they are now nearing completion in a succession of empty venues in Tokyo and beyond.

On 'Super Saturday', Brazil play Spain in the men's football final and Nelly Korda leads the women's golf by one shot with two holes to go when play was suspended due to storm conditions.

Britain's Tom Daley, 27, goes for the individual 10m platform title after claiming an emotional gold with Matty Lee after bronzes in the past two Games.

The climax to track and field at the Olympic Stadium includes the men's 1500m final, with Kenya's Timothy Cheruiyot facing a major challenge from Norwegian youngster Jakob Ingebrigsten, women's 10,000m and 4x400m relays.

- Baseball final -
France face the USA in the men's basketball final for the third time after London 1948 and Sydney 2000.

Japan and the US cross swords for the first time in the men's baseball final in what would be a morale-boosting win for the country, where the Games have had a mixed reception.

The men's madison is the dish of the day at the Izu Velodrome, and there are four titles on offer in boxing and canoeing, and three in wrestling.

At the Nippon Budokan, karate's fleeting appearance as an Olympic sport concludes with kumite finals for men (+75kg) and women (+61kg). Karate made its Olympic debut in Tokyo but will not figure at Paris 2024.

On the most gold-heavy day there are also finals in modern pentathlon, equestrian team jumping, artistic swimming, handball and water polo.

Heading into the penultimate day, China top the medals table with 36 golds from the USA (31), with Japan (24) in third.

The Games will close on Sunday in the same way they started on July 23 -- with a ceremony at the spectator-free, 68,000-capacity Olympic Stadium.

US swimmer urges media to stay away
US Olympic swimmer Simone Manuel says athletes should not have to give media interviews immediately after losses because sports stars find them "mentally and emotionally exhausting".

In the latest call to protect the mental health of athletes, Manuel said elite competitors "aren't obligated to give people all of our soul" after posting poor results.

"Please stop interviewing athletes right after a disappointing performance before they have any time to process anything," she tweeted. 

"Trust me. They gave it their all. Nothing else people need to know at that time."

Manuel's campaign in Tokyo did not go to plan after an outstanding Games in Rio -- where she won two gold and two silver, becoming the first Black swimmer to win an individual title in the Olympic pool.

The 24-year-old had to settle for a single relay bronze in Japan, holding back tears after she failed to reach the 50m final.

"I had the courage to go out there and try and possibly fail," she told reporters.

Manuel said athletes risked being labelled "sore losers" if they refused to talk to media after a defeat, but they were often in no mental state to do so.

"Look at us as humans with emotions," she said.

"It's mentally and emotionally exhausting to coherently answer questions while trying to process the fact that people already saw you fall short of the goals you worked so hard for on the world’s biggest stage."

Manuel revealed at the US Olympic trails in June that she battled heart rate spikes, insomnia, depression, anxiety and fatigue.

Her comments come after fellow American Simone Biles threw a spotlight on athlete mental health with her shock withdrawal from several gymnastic events she had been expected to win.

Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka, who along with Biles was a high-profile face of the Tokyo Games who struggled under pressure, has also questioned the media's role in sport.

Osaka pulled out of this year's French Open after refusing to meet mandatory media commitments, claiming they were detrimental to her mental health.

She likened the traditional post-match news conference at the Grand Slams to "kicking people when they're down".

Women's golf final round suspended
The final round of the women's Tokyo Olympics golf was suspended because of an approaching thunderstorm on Saturday with the leaders having only two holes left to play.

Play was suspended at 12:26 pm (0326 GMT), with American world number Nelly Korda leading on 17-under par, a shot ahead of Japan's Mone Inami, with India's Aditi Ashok and Lydia Ko of New Zealand tied for third a stroke further back.

The final group of Korda, Ashok and Ko had teed off at 8:18 am, three hours ahead of the original schedule, in an attempt to complete 72 holes before the tropical storm swept through the area.

If the final round cannot be completed, then the 54-hole leader, Korda, will be declared the winner of the gold medal.