Softball was a women's sporting event at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Games were played at the softball stadium in the Helliniko Olympic Complex from August 14 to 23. The United States won the gold while Australia took silver and Japan received bronze.
Catherine Leigh Osterman is a retired American softball player. Osterman pitched on the United States women's national softball team that won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and silver medal at the 2008 and 2020 Summer Olympics.
Stacey "Nuvey" Nuveman-Deniz is an American, former professional softball player and current head coach at San Diego State. She played for the UCLA Bruins at the catcher position on-and-off from 1997 to 2002, winning a National Championship in 1999. She also won two Olympic gold medals and one silver medal for Team USA.
Jenny Louise Topping is an American, former collegiate four-time first team All-American, medal winning Olympian, retired professional All-Star softball player. Topping played college softball at Washington and Cal State Fullerton primarily as a catcher. She is best known for being a member of the United States women's national softball team at the 2004 Summer Olympics that won a gold medal. She also played professionally in the National Pro Fastpitch for the Akron Racers.
The Akron Racers were a women's softball team based in Akron, Ohio. In 2018 they moved to Cleveland and were renamed the Cleveland Comets. The team was started by Joey Arietta in 1999 to participate in the Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). From 2004-2017, they have played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF).
The United States women's national softball team is the national softball team of the United States. It is governed by USA Softball and takes part in international softball competitions. The US team has been successful in international play, taking the gold medal in three straight Olympics and seven straight World championships. At the 2004 Olympics, the Americans held their opponents to only one run scored in 7 games. The lone run came in a 5–1 victory over the Australian team. However, the team then won the silver medals at the 2008 and 2020 Summer Olympics, both times narrowly losing to Japan.
Victoria Noel Galindo-Piatt, commonly known as Vicky Galindo, is an American, former collegiate All-American, medal-winning Olympian, three-time professional All-Star, softball player and current head coach at West Valley College. An infielder at second and third, Galindo played college softball at West Valley and later for California in the Pac-12 Conference, helping them to back-to-back national runner-up finishes at the 2003 and 2004 Women's College World Series. She was drafted to the Chicago Bandits of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) winning two championships. She also played for the United States women's national softball team, winning a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Natasha Renee Watley is an American, former collegiate four-time first-team All-American, two-time medal winning Olympian, retired seven-time pro-All-Star softball player. Watley played college softball at UCLA, and helped the Bruins win a national championship. She represented the United States women's national softball team at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She won a gold medal, and again at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and won a silver medal.
The United States of America (USA), represented by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. U.S. athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games in the modern era, except the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, which was boycotted by the American team and 65 other countries in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The USOC sent a total of 588 athletes to Beijing (310 men and 286 women), and competed in all Olympic sports except handball.
Lovieanne Jung is a Filipino-American, former collegiate All-American, two-time medal winning Olympian, retired softball player. She began her college softball career at Fresno State as a second baseman, then transferred to Arizona and played as a shortstop. She represented the United States women's national softball team winning a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Yukiko Ueno is a Japanese, medal-winning Olympian, professional right-handed softball pitcher for Bic Camera Takasaki Bee Queen and the Japanese national team, who holds a bronze and two gold medals from the 2004, 2008 and 2020 Summer Olympics, respectively. She became the first pitcher ever to throw a perfect game at the Olympics, against China in Athens. With a fastball that tops out at 128 km/h (80 mph), she is widely recognized as the fastest pitcher in women's softball, although her signature pitch is her change-up, which is often cited as the best in the world.
Caitlin Faith Lowe-Nagy is the head coach of the Arizona Wildcats softball team. Lowe is a former collegiate four-time first team All-American and medal winning Olympian. She played college softball for Arizona and led her team in back-to-back Women's College World Series championships in 2006 and 2007. She won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Lowe played with National Pro Fastpitch's USSSA Pride for six seasons, winning three titles and being named 2012 Player of the Year, before officially retiring in 2015.
Andrea Jane Duran is an American, former collegiate All-American, medal-winning Olympian, professional four-time All-Star softball player. She played college softball at the University of California, Los Angeles in the Pac-12 Conference, where she was named to the all-conference team twice, and Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2006. She also won two national championships in 2003 and 2004, and was named to the All-Tournament team in 2006. She won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. On the Olympic team she played third base and outfield. Duran was undrafted but later played professionally in the National Pro Fastpitch, being named the 2014 Player of the Year and winning three Cowles Cup championships with the USSSA Pride.
Jennifer Lynn Brundage is an American, former collegiate All-American softball player and current associate head coach for Michigan. She played college softball for the UCLA Bruins from 1992 to 1995 and won the 1992 Women's College World Series. Brundage was named Honda Sports Award for softball as Player of the Year in 1995. As a part of Team USA softball, she won a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Dionna M. Harris is an American, former collegiate right-handed softball second baseman and outfielder, originally from Wilmington, Delaware. She played two years for the defunct Temple Owls softball team from 1989 to 1990 in the Atlantic 10 Conference, where as a junior was named Player of The Year. She was also an Olympic champion and competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Julie M. Smith is an American, former collegiate All-American, gold-medal winning Olympian softball player and coach. Smith played college softball for Texas A&M and Fresno State. She represented Team USA at the 1996 Summer Olympics and won a gold medal. Smith most recently served as the head softball coach and assistant athletic director at the University of La Verne.
Christa Lee Williams-Yates is an American, former collegiate three-time All-American, two-time Gold Medal winning Olympian, retired three-time pro All-Star, right-handed hitting softball pitcher originally from Houston, Texas. She competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta where she received a gold medal with the American team. Four years later at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, she won her second gold medal. Williams-Yates began her college career with the UCLA Bruins in 1997 before transferring to play softball with the Texas Longhorns (1998–99). Joining in its inaugural year, she played three years in the National Pro Fastpitch with the Texas Thunder (2004–06) and still ranks top-10 in career wins, strikeouts, ERA among other records. In 2018, Williams-Yates was named to the USA National Softball Hall of Fame. Currently, Williams-Yates teaches high school softball in Kingwood, Texas.
The 2005 National Pro Fastpitch season was the second season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's fastpitch softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
The 2000 Women's Professional Softball League season was the fourth season of professional women's fastpitch softball for the league named Women's Professional Softball League (WPSL). It was the WPSL's final season until the league relaunched in 2004 under the name National Pro Fastpitch. In 1997 and 1998, WPSL operated under the name Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF).
The 2017 National Pro Fastpitch season was the 14th season of professional softball under the name National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) for the only professional women's softball league in the United States. From 1997 to 2002, NPF operated under the names Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Cowles Cup.
