Photoessay #455 - Yukiko Ueno

A huge upset from this summer's olympics was the USA softball team's silver medal performance in the sport's olympic's swan song.

Softball got thrown out of the Olympics along with Baseball a number of years back and there's been a huge effort to get it reinstated. A terrible misfortune for the softball community who cares so deeply about their chosen sport. Softball's out for 2012, there's a lot of people hoping for softball in 2016.

One perceived weakness for softball as an Olympic sport is the USA's dominance. Not considered a sport played throughout the world. The USA won gold in 1996, 2000, 2004; rarely ever loses in international competition.

But they lost the gold medal game this year...to Japan...considered their main rival. We saw Japan play at Canada Cup in July and they looked STRONG. Defense well executed and coached. Small ball, timely hits, power. They won Canada Cup. USA elected not to participate...hmmmm. However Japan did not use their main pitcher, Yukiko Ueno much. A strategy so that your Olympic opponents do not get to see your star pitcher.

Yukiko Ueno made the difference for Japan in Beijing. She pitched 28 innings in two days finishing with a resounding defeat of the defending gold medal champions. 28 innings in two days is a LOT in softball though often your #1 pitcher may pitch every day.

As they say, Yukiko Ueno, was on a mission.

No surprise to me. I first saw Yukiko Ueno pitch in July 2004 at Canada Cup before the 2004 games. Picture (poor quality) shows Team Japan at the smaller field at Softball City in Surrey BC as they were dismantling the Washington Blast. I believe that Ueno is the player in the white shorts to left of the main fenced in bench area 'dugout'.

Now, I'm no judge of softball talent. I could never recruit because I can't recognize athletic potential or performance.

But...

When Yukiko Ueno's performance stunned me that day. I have NEVER seen anybody pitch that hard. The ball was just a bullet exploding in the catcher's mitt. Resounding POP! Pitch after pitch. Pop! Pop! Whoa, who is THAT? Unhittable. Somebody told me she was Japan's #2! What?! I would hate to see their #1! I posted about her on the softball forum. Watch out for Japan's Yukiko Ueno, she's the real thing!

And so 4 years later she dethroned the USA team, the team that nobody could beat.

Watch her commercial!