Headercolor: | lightblue |
Native Name: | 斎藤 春香, Saitō Haruka |
Native Name Lang: | ja |
Nationality: | Japanese |
Birth Date: | 14 March 1970 |
Birth Place: | Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Japan |
Sport: | Softball |
Show-Medals: | yes |
(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. 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]