Yukiko Ueno

Yukiko Ueno
Bic Camera Takasaki Bee Queen – No. 7
Pitcher
Born: (1982-07-22) July 22, 1982 Fukuoka, Japan
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Medals Women's softball Representing Japan Olympic Games 2004 Athens Team 2008 Beijing Team 2020 Tokyo Team World Cup 2012 Whitehorse Team 2014 Haarlem Team 2024 Castions di Strada Team 2002 Saskatoon Team 2006 Beijing Team 2018 Chiba Team Asian Games 2002 Busan Team 2006 Doha Team 2010 Guangzhou Team 2014 Incheon Team 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Team 2022 Hangzhou Team Asian Championship 2017 Taichung Team

Yukiko Ueno (上野 由岐子, Ueno Yukiko, born July 22, 1982 in Fukuoka City) is a Japanese professional softball pitcher for Bic Camera Takasaki Bee Queen and Japan women's national softball team. She won 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.

Career

2006

In 2006, World Women's Softball Championship in Beijing, she shut out the U.S. team in the semifinal, but lost the final against the same U.S. team.

Perseverance at the 2008 Olympics

In the 2008 Summer Olympics, she again lost to the U.S. in the playoff allowing four runs in the tiebreak ninth inning, after shutting out the opponent until the previous inning. Yet, she won the final against the same U.S. by pitching her fifth complete game, allowing only one run in seven innings.

She threw over 600 pitches at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics in 4 days (413 in the last two days during which she completed three games, two of which went extra innings). During the semi-final and final games of the softball event, which lasted for two days and included three games, Ueno pitched 28 innings against the United States and Australia, considered the two best lineups in the world. NBC commentator Rob Baird described Ueno's feat as "one of the most amazing pitching performances in recent memory."

2020 Olympics

Ueno again joined Team Japan at the postponed 2020 Olympics in 2021. She went 2-0 for the team, allowing three earned runs, 13 hits, 6 walks and struck out 26 batters for a 0.95 ERA and 0.86 WHIP. She pitched 6 innings against the US in the gold medal game, along with teammate Miu Goto to shutout the Americans 2–0 on July 27, 2021. She became the first non-American pitcher to win and hold two gold medals in the Olympics for softball.

Popular culture

The pronunciation of Ueno's surname was brought to the attention of comedy duo Hamish & Andy during the Olympics. This was due to the name being very similar to a stereotypical Australian or Strine nickname for Wayne, 'Wayno'. It also is pronounced exactly the same way to national baseball pitcher, Wayne Ough. The segment was included on their compilation album Unessential Listening.

External links

• Beijing 2008 Athlete Biography: UENO Yukiko
• [1] (in Japanese)