Haruka Saito
 Hitachi Sundiva of Japan Softball League, 2019 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 斎藤 春香, Saitō Haruka |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Born | March 14, 1970 Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Japan |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Japan |
| Sport | Softball |
Medal record | |
Haruka Saito (斎藤 春香, Saitō Haruka) (born March 14, 1970, in Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan) is a Japanese softball player. She played in the Hitachi softball club from 1994 to 2006[1] and represented Japan as part of the Japan women's national softball team in the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Olympic Games.[2] In 2000 and 2004, she played in the teams that won the bronze and silver medals, respectively.
Retirement
[edit]Following her final Olympics appearance in 2004, Saitō continued at Hitachi softball club as a playing coach until 2006, when she became the coach for the national team.[1] She led them to the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics.[3] In 2011, national teammate, Reika Utsugi, succeeded her as the national team coach.
She currently serves as the technical vice chair on the Japan Softball Association.[4] On 26 June, she was selected as a board director on the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC), a move that doubled the number of women directors.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b 退任者紹介 [Retiree Introduction]. Hitachi Softball Club. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
- ^ "Haruka Saito Biography and Olympic Results". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ Ong, Charles (19 May 2015). "Softball teams pitch their ambitions much higher". The Straits Times. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ "Board Members of Japan Softball Association". Japan Softball Association. 12 June 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
- ^ 斎藤氏ら新理事就任＝女性理事６人に倍増－ＪＯＣ [Haruka Saito is a new female director appointment. Number of women directors increase to 6 on the JOC board]. Jiji Press. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
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- Japanese softball players
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