One of the bright spots of the summer is the Olympic Games in Tokyo. As a lifelong athlete, I love watching amazing feats of athleticism by competitors at the height of their talent, and I am hoping that everyone can continue to stay safe throughout the Games.

I grew up playing softball, with countless memories of competing all day with my friends in the scorching summer heat, being left with scraped knees, tan lines, and sore muscles — and loving every second of it. Thus,  I’m especially excited that softball is back in the Olympics for 2020, after being left out of the 2012 and 2016 Games. The Olympic softball tournament started early, with six teams vying for gold - USA, Australia, Canada, Italy, Mexico, and defending 2008 Olympic champions - Japan. The teams begin with a round-robin (with each team playing each other head to head), to determine the top two teams who will face off again in the gold medal game.

The U.S. went undefeated in the opening rounds, earning a spot against Japan - a rematch from the last time softball appeared on the Olympic card - in 2008. That year, Japan defeated the U.S. to win gold, which marked the first time that Team USA did not win gold in the Games.

The U.S. pitchers are seasoned veterans, and they have been dominant thus far. Cat Osterman is back for her third Olympics after winning gold with the team in 2004 and silver in 2008. She began her Olympic career as a 20-year-old phenom and came out of retirement a couple of years ago in the quest for another gold. Monica Abbott is also back on the mound for Team USA, after winning silver with the team at the 2008 Games.

It has been thrilling to watch this incredible pitching duo and the defense behind them dominate the tournament thus far. Osterman and Abbott have only given up one unearned run, allowing six hits, with 44 strikeouts over four starts (neither started in the final round-robin game, though they came on in relief).

I’ll be watching the gold medal game on Tuesday morning at 7:00 am Eastern, and here’s hoping that softball will be back in the Olympics for Los Angeles in 2028!

See you on the field,

Katie & the Level Up Athlete team