[21], Only one hitter at the 2004 game was able to score a run off the American team's pitchers.

Softball was still played at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, however, and the Japanese team claimed their first gold and third overall medal in Olympic softball. [31] They beat other medal favourites Australia and China. [5] American center fielder Laura Berg was the only player to be a part of all four of those teams. [5], Athletes who won at least two gold medals or three total medals are listed below. [1] The Australian Softball Council made an effort in 1952 to get the sport included on the programme and thought they had a decent opportunity at doing just that because the sport had a great deal of popularity, being played in over 15 countries. They were told in 1965 a requirement of playing the sport at the Olympics as the sport must be played in at least eleven countries who can field teams to compete at the Games and the international governing body for the sport must have at least twenty-nine national federations affiliated with it. The ball must weigh between 6.25 ounces (177 g) and 7 ounces (200 g). [11] Softball was still played at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, however, and the Japanese team claimed their first gold and third overall medal in Olympic softball. In fact, it’s only been a medal sport four times. Dot Richardson was part of Team USA’s gold medal-winning teams in 1996 and 2000.

Japan automatically qualifies by being the host country. It is a little bit funny seeing London splashed across the TV at the moment for us and I think a lot of the girls are only now just starting to realise that we aren't in the Olympics.

First a part of the Summer Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, softball took place at each subsequent Olympics through the 2008 games in Beijing. Countries competing at the 2000 Summer Olympics included the United States, Japan, Australia, China, Italy, New Zealand, Cuba and Canada. [3] The United States team lived up to expectations by winning the gold medal. In 2006, the fourth-place finishers automatically qualified to the Games because China was the Olympic Games based on that. Anita DeFrantz as committee chair starting 1992 would be instrumental in helping get softball on the Olympic programme. Australia won this game by one run. Melanie Roche played for all four Australian Olympic softball teams, earning a silver medal and three bronze in the process. [9] The IOC voted on July 8, 2005, to remove softball and baseball from the 2012 Summer Olympics roster, the first sports removed from the Olympics since polo in 1936. Six teams will qualify, including Japan, which, as host nation, qualifies automatically. [3], These efforts continued into the 1960s, with the International Softball Federation working consistently towards inclusion.

Roche is just one of four Australians — including teammates Natalie Ward and Tanya Harding — to win four Olympic medals. The United States (USA) won the gold while Australia (AUS) took silver and Japan (JPN), the bronze. The United States won silver, and the Australian team bronze, to become the only countries to win a medal in all four Olympic softball …