Personal information | |
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Native name | 斎藤 春香, Saitō Haruka |
Nationality | Japanese |
Born | Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Japan | March 14, 1970
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.
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]