It was by no means certain the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympics would even go ahead, such was the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
But go ahead they did and now here we stand on the eve of the closing ceremony in the Japanese capital.
They have certainly been a Games like no other and we all hope future Olympics will not be held under such unusual circumstances, and judging the success of Tokyo 2020 is no easy feat given the measures to do so are too arbitrary.
Having said that, here are the highs of the Games and some of the lows, too.
The highs…
WARHOLM AND MCLAUGHLIN HAMMER THE HURDLES
Karsten Warholm revelled in bringing the "wow" factor to the men's 400m hurdles, and rightly so. The Norwegian became the first man to break the 46-second barrier – running an astonishing 45.94 seconds to smash his own world record, five weeks after breaking a benchmark held by Kevin Young for 29 years. A day later, Sydney McLaughlin battered her own world record in the women's race, clocking in at 51.46s.
VAN VLEUTEN'S HEARTWARMING TRIUMPH
Five years ago in Rio, Annemiek van Vleuten was on course for victory in the women's cycling road race until a high-speed crash left her with minor fractures to her spine. To make matters worse, the Dutchwoman made headlines for celebrating what she thought was victory in the same event here in Tokyo – only to realise she had finished second behind runaway winner Anna Kiesenhofer. But finally, her golden moment arrived in the women's time trial – at the age of 38 years and 293 days, she became the third-oldest woman to win Olympic gold for the Netherlands.
SWIMMING STARS PROVE THERE'S LIFE AFTER PHELPS
Michael Phelps is an Olympics legend and no one can lay claim to more than the 23 golds or 28 overall medals he accrued over between 2004 and 2016. But a stellar cast this year proved swimming is in a very strong position. Emma McKeon took home seven medals (including four golds) – the joint-most of any woman at a single Games – while Ariarne Titmus' 200m and 400m free double was memorable, particularly her win over the great Katie Ledecky in the latter race. Caeleb Dressel took five golds to show his potential as Phelps' heir apparent, while Adam Peaty stunned again for Great Britain. It was some week in the pool.
THOMPSON-HERAH DOES THE DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Elaine Thompson-Herah announced herself to the world stage with a 100 and 200m sprint double at Rio 2016 but injuries in the intervening years stemmed her momentum a little. However, she peaked at the perfect time in Tokyo and backed up her double from Brazil – becoming the first woman to repeat on the 100 and 200m. Indeed, only Usain Bolt had ever previously done so.
THE AZZURRI'S GOLDEN HOUR
There was a shock in the men's 100m final where the unheralded Marcell Jacobs started the post-Bolt era with gold. That followed on from countryman Gianmarco Tamberi having minutes earlier shared high jump glory with Mutaz Essa Barshim. There were hugs aplenty as Italy, surely celebrating their greatest night at an Olympics, won two athletics golds at the same Games since Athens in 2004.
NEW EVENTS CATCH THE IMAGINATION
One of the most fascinating aspects of any Olympics is the new sports and categories that get added to the programme. At Tokyo 2020, skateboarding, surfing and climbing have all attracted new and younger audiences to the Games – while the addition of mixed triathlon and the mixed 4x400m track relay have been successes.
BILES' INSPIRATIONAL MESSAGE
On the one hand, the fact we saw so little of Simone Biles and some of the reprehensible bilge aimed her way over the decision to pull out of the women's team event after just one rotation and then miss four individual events can be seen as a negative. But, on the other hand, the fact that she came back to take bronze on the balance beam and use her platform to promote the importance of protecting mental health has to be seen as a high. It takes bravery and courage in her position to speak on such matters. Kudos to you, Simone.
And the lows…
EMPTY STADIUMS AN ENDURING IMAGE
Let's start with the obvious here and something that has been spoken about pretty relentlessly. The absence of fans has had a huge cost on the atmosphere at these Games. Magical moments and career peaks played out in front of huge, empty stadia has undoubtedly been a huge negative. Many will take the fact we got here and managed to hold a Games at all as a positive. And it is. But at times, the whole thing felt a bit… meh.
TENNIS' HEADLINE ACTS FAIL TO DELIVER
With so many of the top male players opting to skip Tokyo, there was a big focus on Novak Djokovic and the next checkmark on his quest for a rare Golden Slam (only Steffi Graf has ever done it). The Serbian fell short, dropping out at the semi-final stage then getting a little stroppy. Big things were also expected of Naomi Osaka – a home hope and the 'face of the Games'. She made it as far as round three before going down to Marketa Vondrousova.
THE TSIMANOUSKAYA SAGA
One of the ugliest stories to emerge from the Games was the story of Belarusian runner Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who refused to board a flight after allegedly being taken to the airport against her will following her public criticism of her team's organisation on social media. Tsimanouskaya competed in only one event and claimed she was entered into a 4x400m relay despite never racing in the discipline, suggesting that was a result of members of the team being considered ineligible due to not completing enough doping tests. The Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation indicated Tsimanouskaya feared for her life upon returning to Minsk. The country is under the authoritarian leadership of president Alexander Lukashenko, whose son Viktor heads the national Olympic committee (NOC). Both men were banned last December from attending Tokyo 2020. The whole thing has been really rather unsavoury.
Germany's modern pentathlon coach Kim Raisner has been disqualified from the Olympic Games after hitting a horse that refused to jump during the women's competition.
Early leader Annika Schleu's medal hopes were shattered on Friday when Saint Boy, the horse she was allocated for the show-jumping section of the five-discipline event, proved unwilling to perform.
It led to Schleu being reduced to tears while still on board the seemingly agitated horse as her prospects of success slipped away.
Raisner suggested Schleu hit the horse to jolt it into action, before striking it herself near its rear left leg.
Modern pentathlon's world governing body, the UIPM said on Saturday its executive board (EB) had "given a black card to the Germany team coach Kim Raisner, disqualifying her from the remainder of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games".
"The EB reviewed video footage that showed Ms Raisner appearing to strike the horse Saint Boy, ridden by Annika Schleu, with her fist during the riding discipline of the women's modern pentathlon competition," the UIPM added in a statement.
"Her actions were deemed to be in violation of the UIPM competition rules, which are applied to all recognised modern pentathlon competitions including the Olympic Games.
"The EB decision was made today at the Tokyo Stadium before the resumption of the men's modern pentathlon competition."
That meant Raisner was not present as Germany competed on Saturday, with Patrick Dogue finishing second in the show-jumping stage in her absence.
Germany's modern pentathlon federation, the DVMF, promised an investigation.
Modern pentathlon competitors are presented with horses for the show-jumping element, and have 20 minutes to become acquainted before they must ride.
"It goes without saying that there will be a comprehensive and critical evaluation of what happened after the Olympic Games," the DVMF said.
"The DVMF also makes it clear that the welfare of the horses is the unreserved concern of the association."
Michael Morkov and Lasse Norman Hansen added Olympic gold to their World Championship title as Denmark were crowned kings of the Tokyo 2020 men's madison.
Great Britain took silver and France the bronze in the Izu Velodrome, but Denmark again proved they are masters of the event, with their riders adding to the silver they captured in team pursuit.
Having served as Deceuninck-QuickStep’s lead-out man in the Tour de France, helping Mark Cavendish secure the four stage wins that took him level with the great Eddy Merckx, this was another standout moment for Morkov, and it was his day to scoop big-stage glory.
He and Hansen landed the madison world title in March of last year, before lockdown hit much of Europe, and now they have gold at the Olympics to their name.
The British duo of Ethan Hayter and omnium gold medallist Matt Walls finished strongly to snatch second place by landing the double-points final sprint.
France, who had led the gold medal chase with six sprints remaining, were reeled in and forced to settle for third.
Morkov said: "I know we won the race but it's hard to believe now. We were the main favourite. Lasse and I won all the medals we ever did together internationally. We know we had a good shot at this but it came very close.
"Actually I knew it 10 laps out because we were leading with 11 points. We had the French with us and the British were off the road, they could maximum take 10 points. So it was kind of a sweet finish even though it was very, very hard because it was our chase, but still I wanted to look at the board in the end to get it confirmed.
"I had in mind all the time our Danish badminton player Viktor Axelsen, who won an amazing gold medal a week ago, and he was a big inspiration for me today."
The madison had been off the Olympic programme since 2008 until its return this year, with Morkov finishing sixth in the event in Beijing 13 years ago alongside Alex Rasmussen, when the Danes had higher ambitions.
Morkov described the move to scratch the madison from the 2012 and 2016 Olympics as "a big bummer", given his prowess in the event.
"But in 2017 when I heard it was back on the programme, I was in no doubt that this would be my shot at an Olympic medal," the 36-year-old said.
Hansen, 29, savoured the moment, saying of Morkov: "Man, he's been one of my idols since I started riding on the tracks, so it means a lot to stand here beside him."
Noah Lolesio's wayward kicking cost Australia at Eden Park on Saturday, but the Wallabies plan to keep faith with their young fly-half.
Lolesio, 21, entered the Bledisloe Cup opener against New Zealand with 52 Test points in 2021, trailing only Johnny Sexton (65) among players for tier one nations.
But he added just five in a 33-25 All Blacks victory, missing two of three penalties and three of four conversions.
Windy conditions did not help Lolesio, yet his profligacy proved the difference between the sides as Australia's run of defeats in Auckland – where Lolesio was born – extended to 21 Tests.
Coach Dave Rennie was in forgiving mood, though, with the number 10 having contributed 23 points in a series decider against France just last month.
"He was sensational in the French series and you don't go from an ace goal kicker to a novice overnight," Rennie said. "Tough conditions – we saw Richie [Mo'unga] miss as well.
"He kicked penalties in the French series to win the first and third Test and one that should have won us the second one. Yes, he'll be disappointed.
"We've got a lot of faith in the kid. He's going to get better and better, he's 21 and there are a lot of young men around him as well.
"He's growing and he's an impressive kid, too, very confident, great work ethic, he's spending a lot of time sitting around with Quade [Cooper] and talking about the generic parts of his game.
"He played pretty well tonight, but he had a rough night with the boot."
Captain Michael Hooper added: "We pick each other up. As Dave said, his boot guided us through a series win.
"In a goal kicker's career, there's going to be nights like that. He'll be better from it. He'll learn from that for sure."
Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard is isolating after contracting coronavirus, the club announced on Saturday.
United were preparing to face Everton in a friendly at Old Trafford in front of an expected crowd of 55,000 and confirmed starts for captain Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial.
But the club added: "Unfortunately, Jesse Lingard is unavailable after testing positive for COVID-19. He is isolating in line with government and Premier League guidelines."
Lingard enjoyed an outstanding loan spell with West Ham last season, scoring nine goals in 16 Premier League appearances.
The England international netted on average once every 158 minutes, the 11th-best rate in the division among players with multiple goals.
Lingard, who also provided four assists last term, has returned to the first-team fold at United in pre-season.
He posted on his Twitter page on Saturday: "Really gutted to have tested positive after a good pre-season.
"Luckily I feel fine and will follow the guidelines and be back with the boys on pitch very soon! Thank you for your support."
Galal Yafai secured a first Olympic gold for his family with a points win in the men's flyweight final on Saturday.
Four of the judges scored the bout against Carlo Paalam narrowly in Yafai's favour at Kokugikan Arena to bring the Great Britain star Games joy at Tokyo 2020.
Yafai lost in the round of 16 at Rio 2016, while brother Kal fell at the same stage at Beijing 2008 and then failed to make weight for a box-off ahead of London 2012. Gamal, a third brother, is also a boxer.
It was a victory long in the making then, as Yafai said: "Whenever I do anything good it impacts [his brothers].
"We're a close-knit family, close-knit brothers and hopefully they can celebrate this with me too."
Yafai said winning a world title was "a million per cent" an aspiration, but he would not immediately commit to turning professional.
"I'll have a rest now," he said. "Obviously everyone wants to turn pro. I've been amateur for a long time, been to two Olympic Games, I'm Olympic champion now.
"I think it's a big thing that everyone wants to do, but I'm just going to have a rest at the minute and spend time with family and friends and just soak it all in."
BRUTAL END TO STUNNING UNBEATEN RUN
Hebert Sousa became the second Brazilian to win an Olympic gold in boxing after ending Oleksandr Khyzhniak's sensational undefeated streak in style.
Khyzhniak, one of the favourites in the middleweight event, had not lost in 62 amateur bouts going back to 2016.
But the Ukrainian was knocked out in the third round by Sousa, having been in control of the fight to that point.
"It was very difficult and I had to confront my opponent," Sousa said. "He's very, very powerful. I believed in our possibility and I trained to get the medal. I trained and trained."
MIXED FORTUNES IN TURKEY'S MEDAL FIGHTS
Saturday's two women's finals both brought unanimous decisions, with Turkey's Busenaz Surmeneli winning the welterweight gold but compatriot Buse Naz Cakiroglu having to settle for silver in the fly.
Cakiroglu, in action first, had missed out on becoming Turkey's first boxing gold medallist as Stoyka Zhelyazkova Krasteva of Bulgaria triumphed.
That honour instead went to Surmeneli following her victory over China's Hong Gu.
Surmeneli said of the achievement: "I am really happy to get that. I am just a pioneer and this medal is for all Turkey. I hope to win more medals.
"This is hope for the Turkish girls and it is a sign that you should run for your dreams, you should do your best for your dreams."
New Zealand's Eden Park fortress remained unbreached as they took the Bledisloe Cup opener 33-25 against Australia following a clinical second-half spell.
The All Blacks have not lost to the Wallabies in Auckland since 1986 and have momentum to take into next week's Rugby Championship encounter at the same venue again.
Australia were in this contest throughout but allowed the scoreline to get away from them as Richie Mo'unga, David Havili and Damian McKenzie crossed in a 14-minute period.
That left a mountain to climb, with a double from Tom Banks and Jordan Uelese's try not enough, largely due to a poor kicking game from Noah Lolesio in tricky winds.
Those gusts played in Mo'unga's favour as he dispatched two early penalties and then stretched the All Blacks' lead to nine after Lolesio's kick faded right, one of several wayward Wallabies efforts.
Lolesio did get on the board with his next attempt before Andrew Kellaway burst through for the first try, but New Zealand finished the half firmly on top and Sevu Reece forced the ball over heading into the break.
Reece thought he had a second soon after the restart, finishing off one of the great Test moves from his team's own try line only for the score to be pulled back for a forward pass from Aaron Smith.
However, another sensational break brought the All Blacks joy as Mo'unga intercepted inside his own half and raced through, with the hosts really hitting their stride as Havili and McKenzie each touched down in the corner.
Australia finally got the response their pressure merited through Banks on the left and he toed the ball away to score again following Lolesio's incisive kick.
But repeated misses from the tee meant Uelese's try in the final seconds counted for little.
Not Noah's day
Johnny Sexton (65) is the sole player from a Tier One country with more Test points this year than Lolesio, but his tally only improved to 57 on a testing day.
Just one of his three penalties found the target, while he also missed three conversions in a row before belatedly hitting the mark when Uelese went over.
Out of touch
Australia had lost just one of their previous six Tests, including a victory over New Zealand in November 2020. However, each of those six matches had been decided by margins of no more than three points.
When the Wallabies were picked apart at the start of the second half and the lead reached 25 points, any hopes of back-to-back wins over the All Blacks for the first time since 2001 were all but over.
Draymond Green turned on Team USA's critics after landing another basketball gold medal at the Olympic Games, saying: "Somebody needs to teach these people some loyalty."
A sketchy start to the Tokyo 2020 mission was followed by steady improvement from Gregg Popovich's team, and an 87-82 win over France in Saturday's final tied up a fourth successive gold-winning campaign.
Pre-tournament losses to Australia and Nigeria hinted at teething problems in fusing together a new-look squad, and an early-group stage loss to France only fuelled doubts that this side might come up short.
But the United States team came good when it mattered, fending off a France side who kept coming back for more in the gold game.
Golden State Warriors power forward Green has now played on two of the Americans' triumphant men's basketball Olympic teams, and he was keen to hit out at what he called "a lot of doubters".
"You turn on American sports talk, TV, or whatever, and you got guys like Kendrick Perkins doubting us," Green said.
Perkins, 36, is a former NBA championship winner with the Boston Celtics who now works as a television game analyst and commentator.
"Somebody needs to teach these people some loyalty. How about you cheer for your country?" Green said.
"When a guy doesn't play they say, 'Oh you need to represent your country', and then you lose, hit a little bump in the road, and everybody is mad in America. You are an American too, act like it.
"Do your job. I do some media stuff, I understand doing your job, but when you talk about a special group, you better be sure you are right, and a lot of people got it wrong.
"And trust me, I will be posting those guys, I'll be posting everyone I find who said something. No one holds anyone accountable any more, but I will."
Kevin Durant was the driving force behind the USA's success, scoring a game-high 29 points in the final and being a powerful presence during the tournament.
Like others, Green said that Durant "carried" the team, but he also pointed to the efforts of Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker and Jrue Holiday as being significant.
"It's a challenge to do special things," Green said. "I know it seems as if it has come easy for so long, but I played in 2016. It wasn’t easy then, it wasn’t easy this year.
"If it's worth having, you have to fight for it. We fought, they fought, I think the better team came out with the gold medal."
With families unable to join the team in Tokyo, and the Games coming on the back of a taxing NBA season, Green suggested this was a win to savour perhaps more than the Rio success, where there were no issues as imposing as the ongoing COVID restrictions.
"Don't get me wrong, I don't take either one for granted, but this one feels sweet," Green said. "It feels a lot sweeter."
The Philadelphia Phillies surged into first place with their sixth consecutive win, beating the New York Mets 4-2 on Friday.
Bryce Harper's two-run homer in the eighth inning provided what proved to be the winning margin as the Phillies took over sole possession of the top spot in the National League (NL) East for the first time since May 7.
That was also the last day the Mets spent outside first place, as they have seen a lead that once stood at five games evaporate in dropping four of their last five games.
Trade-deadline acquisition Kyle Gibson allowed one run in his six innings and added an RBI single for the Phillies, who also got a home run from Didi Gregorius as they handed Marcus Stroman the loss.
Brewers walk it off against Giants
Rowdy Tellez's 10th-inning single gave the Milwaukee Brewers a 2-1 win over the San Francisco Giants in a matchup ot the teams with the two best records in the National League. Milwauke's Avisail Garcia and San Francisco's Brandon Belt had traded solo homers for the only other runs of the game.
The Chicago White Sox did not get what they expected out of their lockdown bullpen but still managed to pull out an 8-6 win over the rival Cubs in 10 innings. Newly acquired reliever Craig Kimbrel allowed a three-run homer to Andrew Romine in the eighth to tie the game at 4-4, but the White Sox put four on the board in the top of the 10th on a homer from Brian Goodwin and RBI singles by Gavin Sheets and Tim Anderson.
Brett Gardner gave the New York Yankees a 3-2 walk-off win over the Seattle Mariners with an 11th-inning single in a game that saw the Yankees use nine pitchers, none working more than 1.2 innings.
Dodgers' extra-inning woes continue
The Los Angeles Dodgers lost 4-3 to the Los Angeles Angels in 10 innings, their 11th straight defeat in extra-inning games. That was not even the worst news of the day for the defending World Series champions, though, as Mookie Betts left the game after six innings with right hip discomfort.
Boston Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi cruised through four scoreless innings against the Toronto Blue Jays before everything came apart on him in the fifth. Toronto scored nine times in the frame, with seven of the runs charged to Eovaldi, as they rolled to a 12-4 victory at Rogers Centre.
Marte makes it count this time
Starling Marte's first home run after joining the Oakland Athletics was meaningless, a solo shot in an 8-1 loss earlier this week. His second made a bit more noise, a three-run bomb in the 11th inning to give the A's a 4-1 victory over the Texas Rangers.
Friday's results
Tampa Bay Rays 10-6 Baltimore Orioles
Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 San Francisco Giants
Cincinnati Reds 10-0 Pittsburgh Pirates
Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 New York Mets
New York Yankees 3-2 Seattle Mariners
Toronto Blue Jays 12-4 Boston Red Sox
Colorado Rockies 14-2 Miami Marlins
Oakland Athletics 4-1 Texas Rangers
St Louis Cardinals 4-2 Kansas City Royals
Atlanta Braves 8-4 Washington Nationals
Cleveland Indians 6-1 Detroit Tigers
Chicago White Sox 8-6 Chicago Cubs
Arizona Diamondbacks 8-5 San Diego Padres
Minnesota Twins 5-4 Houston Astros
Los Angeles Angels 4-3 Los Angeles Dodgers
Red Sox at Blue Jays
The Boston Red Sox (64-47) have lost seven of their last eight games to fall out of first place, but they have a chance to recover with a doubleheader at the Toronto Blue Jays (58-49).
Peres Jepchirchir and Brigid Kosgei set the pace for most of Saturday's women's marathon, and the only question entering the final five kilometres was which Kenyan would cross the line first.
Jepchirchir finally broke from her countrywoman with a little over two kilometres to go and pulled away to win by 16 seconds.
Kosgei's second-place finish made Kenya the first nation to claim gold and silver in the event at the same Olympic Games.
“I pushed on the pace [and when I opened the gap] it was like, 'Wow, I’m going to make it. I’m going to win,'" Jepchirchir said.
"It feels good. I’m so, so happy because we win as Kenya. First and second. I thank my god so much. I'm happy for my family. I'm happy for my country, Kenya."
Ten seconds behind Kosgei, Molly Seidel of the USA shouted "Yes! Yes!" as she crossed the line for a stunning bronze medal in only her third competitive marathon.
Seidel is the third US woman to medal in the marathon, following Joan Benoit Samuelson's gold at the inaugural women's race in Los Angeles in 1984 and Deena Kastor's bronze at Athens 2004.
She said she took inspiration from her friend Courtney Frerichs' aggressive approach that led to a silver medal in the 3,000m steeplechase this week.
"Seeing her do that and race aggressively was truthfully what gave me the strength to not be afraid to stick my nose in it," Seidel said.
"It is just to go out, stick your nose where it doesn’t belong and try and make some people angry. My goal today was just to go in and for people to think, 'Who the hell is this girl?'."
ANOTHER GOLD FOR MCGEE FAMILY
JaVale McGee was a late addition to the USA basketball squad, but Saturday's victory over France made him a part of history.
McGee's mother Pam won gold with the USA in basketball at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, and she and JaVale are now the first American mother-son combo to win gold in any sport.
“It's an amazing feeling man," McGee said. "I got a gold medal, my mother's got a gold medal. You can't really explain it, just knowing you're the best in the world.
“If that don't add to the resume, I don't know what will. It's a family resume. That's what it’s all about, in the end, is family.”
YAFAI WINS BOXING GOLD FOR BRITAIN
Galal Yafai became the first British man to win boxing gold since London 2012, defeating Carlo Paalam of the Philippines for the flyweight title Saturday.
Yafai knocked down Paalam in the opening round and never looked back, winning 4-1.
The 28-year-old Birmingham native competed in Rio as a light flyweight but lost in the second round.
He is the first Brit to medal in the men's fly since 1956.
Paalam is the first man from the Philippines to medal in any sport since boxer Mansueto Velasco took silver in the light fly at Atlanta 1996.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL NEWCOMERS TAKE MEDALS
A sport traditionally dominated by Brazil and the USA saw three newcomers on the podium on Saturday.
The Norway duo of Anders Mol and Christian Sorum defeated Viacheslav Krasilnikov and Oleg Stoyanovskiy, representing the Russian Olympic Committee, to take home the gold medal.
In the bronze-medal match, Ahmed Tijan and Cherif Younousse of Qatar downed Edgar Tocs and 2012 bronze medallist Martins Plavins of Latvia.
None of the podium nations had won a medal of any kind in men's or women's beach volleyball before, though the winners do have an Olympic legacy of sorts.
Mol's mother, Merita Berntsen, placed ninth with partner Ragni Hestad in the first beach volleyball competition at the 1996 Atlanta Games, then retired when Anders was born the next year.
"My mum thought it was going to be really hard to travel around with two kids, because my brother was born in 1994. She had me and then quit," Mol said. "I always dreamed of beating my mum in the Olympics. She got a ninth [place[. I was actually really happy when we made it to the quarter-finals because we became historical by achieving [at least] a fifth place.
"It has been a journey for a long time and our parents and families are very proud of us right now."
SIXTH KAYAK GOLD FOR HUNGARY'S KOZAK
Danuta Kozak claimed her sixth Olympic gold medal as Hungary won the women's sprint kayak four 500 metres.
The 34-year-old teamed with Tamara Csipes, Anna Karasz and Dora Bodonyi to hold off Belarus and Poland.
It was Kozak's third consecutive gold in the fours after taking silver in the event in her Olympic debut in Beijing.
She also won gold in the K1 500m in London and Rio, and in the K2 in Rio. She took bronze in the K2 earlier this week, so Saturday's win gives her eight Olympic medals overall.
In other sprint kayak finals, Germany won the men's kayak four 500m, China took the women's canoe double 500m and Isaquias Queiroz dos Santos of Brazil won the canoe single 1000m.
Kevin Durant said it felt "incredible" after he won a third gold medal and helped Team USA reach four in a row at the Olympics.
The men's basketball tournament looked primed for a potential shock when the United States team lost to France in their opening group game at Tokyo 2020, yet it came full circle as victory over the same opposition in Saturday's final tied up another success at the Games.
The USA won 87-82 against a French side who gave them trouble all game long, but a game-high 29 points from Durant carried Gregg Popovich's team to top spot on the podium.
"I'm so proud of this team," Durant said. "The coaching staff prepared us so well every single day, even some days when we didn't feel like practising but it was worth it at the end. I’m so glad. I’m ready to go home and celebrate.
"I love our country and this team is just amazing, it’s just incredible.
"How we came together. The adversity that we went through, so many people doubting us early on too. We get that support from our families, our friends, you know it’s bigger than us. We wanted to come here finish it and look alive."
Pre-Olympics defeats to Australia and Nigeria, followed by the France loss when competition began, hinted at major shortcomings in Popovich's ranks.
A host of withdrawals from the planned original roster meant this was a depleted team, but Durant proved to be a driving force throughout the tournament.
"This one feels good because we went through a lot," said the Brooklyn Nets superstar.
"We had a lot of first-time guys on the team, new experience for everyone on the team, COVID, the kind of bubble we were in, no fans, no one expecting us to lose.
"We heard it all over the past few weeks about our team. To fight through this adversity against a great team like these guys ... to come together so fast – it was beautiful to see, it was beautiful to be a part of."
There was widespread acclaim for Durant's on-court leadership.
Draymond Green earned a second Olympic gold and said Durant had "carried" the USA to gold, rating the 32-year-old as the greatest player in the history of the team.
"He's been special," Green said. "He is one of the best players to ever play this game, one of the most special guys you have ever seen lace their shoes and take the basketball court.
"He carried this team like we needed him to, like he was supposed to. Coming back for his third Olympics, all-time USA scorer, there's been a lot of great players to don this jersey – he is number one. That’s a special thing."
Jrue Holiday, who added the gold medal to his NBA championship with the Milwaukee Bucks, also raved about Durant.
Holiday said: "Doing it on the world stage and doing it against different countries and actually being on his team now has been pretty cool to see – how he carries the game, carries his teammates and takes over a game.”
Bam Adebayo said Durant had been "phenomenal", adding: "The thing I like about Kevin the most, he's one of the greatest scorers in our league but also he's a genuine person. People try to bash him in the media but he's one of those guys that got your back 24/7. Being around him, being around this group of guys, we created a brotherhood."
Not even a tropical storm could hold back Nelly Korda as the young American star held on for Olympic gold at Kasumigaseki Country Club.
The world number one golfer emerged triumphant from a fierce battle in the final round, winning by a single stroke from Japan's Mone Inami and New Zealand's Lydia Ko.
Inami fired a 65 and was the co-leader at 17 under until she bogeyed the last, finding a greenside bunker with her approach and failing to put the ball close, then missing her 20-foot par putt.
That meant Korda walked down the 18th knowing she was in pole position to take gold, albeit needing to keep an eye on Ko.
Both Korda and Ko found the green safely, each with an outside chance of birdie. Neither could sink that first putt, but Korda left herself a tap-in for the title and made no mistake.
The 23-year-old then was embraced by her sister Jessica, dancing across the green to offer a fond embrace.
Jessica Korda had fired a joint best-of-the-day 64 to finish in a tie for 15th, but it was Nelly's day to triumph.
The champion set herself up for this success with a 62 in round two, and consecutive rounds of 69 on Friday and Saturday took her over the winning line.
Play was briefly suspended with two holes left to complete for the front-runners, as the nearby storm caused a 49-minute delay just while the tension was ramping up.
But fears of a Saturday washout were allayed to ensure the tournament went the distance, and with gold on 17 under going to Korda, Inami took silver in a play-off when Ko bogeyed 18, the first extra hole.
Inami and Ko, who also made 65 in the final round, had finished tied on 16 under, one ahead of India's Aditi Ashok, whose closing 68 was not enough for a medal.
Korda's triumph meant the USA achieved a golf double, with Xander Schauffele having won the men's title.
Kevin Durant dazzled as Team USA won a fourth successive Olympic men's basketball gold medal, edging out France 87-82 in Saturday's final.
A game-high haul of 29 points from Brooklyn Nets superstar Durant saw the United States to a victory that avenged their opening group-stage loss to France.
It meant the USA kept up their strong recent record on the Olympic stage, with Durant securing a third gold medal of his career.
Jayson Tatum weighed in with 19 points, while France had five players in double figures but nobody in their ranks scored more than the 16 points managed by both Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier.
The USA led by 11 points at 71-57 in the third quarter, but an impressive France cut that advantage to three points at 73-70 with 5:42 remaining of the fourth after Frank Ntilikina drained a three-pointer
France again reined in a double-digit lead to get back to 85-82 in arrears with 10 seconds remaining, but a foul by Gobert on Durant gave the USA's star man the chance to put the game away, which he seized by making both his free throws.
Top-seeded Elise Mertens rolled into the semi-finals at the Silicon Valley Classic with a 6-3 7-6 (10-8) win over Yulia Putintseva on Friday.
The Belgian already has collected a pair of grand slam doubles titles this year at the Australian Open and Wimbledon and is seeking her seventh career singles crown.
She will need to get past fourth seed Daria Kasatkina to have a chance.
The Russian outlasted Magda Linette 6-4 3-6 6-4 in her quarter-final and is seeking her third title of 2021 after a three-year drought between wins.
The other semi-final will match seventh seed Danielle Collins against qualifier Ana Konjuh.
Collins pulled out a tight 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4) upset of second seed Elena Rybakina to reach the semis in San Jose for the second time.
The American won her eighth consecutive match after taking the title at Palermo two weeks ago.
She will meet the only unseeded player remaining, Konjuh, who won the final 10 games of the match to close out Zhang Shuai 3-6 6-2 6-0.
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