| Personal information | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Australian | ||||||||
| Born | 6 October 1999 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||
| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||
| Sport | Softball | ||||||||
| Event | Australian National Team "Aussie Spirit" | ||||||||
| College team | Oregon State University | ||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||
| Olympic finals | 2020 Tokyo Olympics | ||||||||
Medal record
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Tarni Stepto is an Australian female softball Olympian. She was born in Sydney, NSW, Australia in 1999. [1]
Stepto was born into a sports-crazed family. She started playing softball when very young. Her sister was a pitcher so she decided to try pitching as well and was very good at it,
She made her junior national team debut as a teenager and was selected to her first NSW team in 2015. In 2017 she was crowned the Most Valuable Player at the U17 National Championships. She was also selected as the Best Pitcher and Best Player of the Grand Final awards.
In 2018, in her first year in the Australian senior side, she participated in the Pacific Cup. She was then selected in the Championship squad.
Stepto's inspiration was her fellow Kamilaroi woman and Tokyo 2020 teammate Stacey Porter.
In order to experience the American collegiate softball game, Stepto enrolled at the Oregon State University. In her first year she was made the Scenic West Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year. [2]
Stepto was selected for the Australian women's national softball team at the 2020 Summer Olympics. The team came away with one win out of five, beating Italy 1–0 in their second match of the Round Robin and finished fifth overall. Stepto pitched against the United States. [3]
Lauren Bay-Regula is a Canadian softball pitcher. She played college softball at Oklahoma State from 2000 to 2003, where she holds several all-time school records. She was a part of the Canadian softball team who finished ninth at the 2002 World Championships in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and fifth at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Bay-Regula pitched in 2005 for the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch and was named co-Pitcher of the Year; in 2006, Bay signed with the expansion Philadelphia Force. Bay-Regula represented Team Canada at the 2020 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal.
Lisa Maria Fernandez is an American former softball player and current associate head coach at UCLA. She played college softball at UCLA as a pitcher and third baseman, and is a three-time medal winning Olympian with Team USA.
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.
Monica Cecilia Abbott is a retired American professional softball player. Abbott was an All-American pitcher for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers in college before starting a professional career in the NPF and in the Japan Softball League. In international competition, she has played for Team USA from 2005 including the national softball team winning a silver medal at the 2008 and 2020 Summer Olympics. Abbott is the NCAA Division I leader in wins, strikeouts, shutouts and innings.
The Japan women's national softball team is the national team of Japan in international softball competitions. It is governed by the Japan Softball Association. They are currently ranked #2 in the world by the International Softball Federation. In four Olympic Games, since 1996 until 2008, Japan has won one gold medal, a silver medal and a bronze medal. In the top four nations at the Olympics, Japan is the second most successful national team, following the United States, and beating out Australia and China with one silver medal. After winning the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics, the Japanese national team was defeated by the United States team at the XII Women's Softball World Championship in Caracas, Venezuela.
Fastpitch softball, or simply fastpitch, is a form of softball played by both women and men. While the teams are most often segregated by sex, coed fast-pitch leagues also exist. Considered the most competitive form of softball, fastpitch is the format played at the Olympic Games. Softball was on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) program in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2020. It will not be a part of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.
The Australia women's national softball team, also known as the Aussie Spirit, is the national softball team of Australia. It is governed by Softball Australia and takes part in international softball competitions. They are one of Australia's most successful women's sporting teams on the world stage, and they have achieved outstanding results over the last 3 decades. Alongside the USA team, the Aussie Spirit are the only other team to medal at all 4 Olympics that softball was included as a sport in the Olympics program. At the inaugural Women's Softball World Championship held in Melbourne, 1965. Australia claimed the first ever title, winning Gold and stamped themselves as a pioneer in the sport.
Danielle Henderson is an American, former collegiate All-American, medal-winning Olympian, retired professional All-Star softball pitcher who is currently the head coach at UMass. Henderson was a starting pitcher for the UMass Minutewomen softball from 1996 to 1999. Henderson also played professionally in National Pro Fastpitch from 2004 to 2007, where she currently ranks top-10 in career strikeout ratio (6.8). Along with numerous school records, she is the Atlantic 10 Conference career leader in ERA, shutouts, perfect games (3) and WHIP. Henderson represented the United States at the 2000 Summer Olympics and won a gold medal.
Danielle Elaine Lawrie is a Canadian, former collegiate All-American, medal-winning Olympian, professional All-Star softball pitcher and current sports commentator. Lawrie played college softball at Washington, in which she was part of the 2009 Women's College World Series championship team and was named Most Outstanding Player. Lawrie currently plays for the Canada women's national softball team, including during the 2008 Summer Olympics, and the 2020 Summer Olympics, where she won a bronze medal.
Aimee Murch is an Australian softball player. She plays for the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) in national competitions, and for a local ACT club. She plays for the Australia women's national softball team. Furthermore, she is trying to earn a spot on the roster that will allow her to compete at the 2012 ISF XIII Women's World Championships. She plays professional softball in Italy for Nuoro. She is currently employed by the Queensland Department of Education.
Chelsea Forkin is a softball and baseball player. As a softball player, Chelsea has won 3 Australian National Championship titles with the Western Australian Flames and 1 title with the Queensland Heat.
Kaia Parnaby is an Australian, former collegiate All-American, 2020 Olympian, left-handed professional softball pitcher, originally from Sydney. She is a pitcher and earned a scholarship to and played for the Australian Institute of Sport. She played university softball for the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine team in the Big West Conference where she was recognized as all-conference and the 2013 Pitcher of The Year. She also helped them to their first-ever appearance at the 2010 Women's College World Series. She also played for the Aussie Peppers, a traveling team affiliate in the National Pro Fastpitch. She is a member of the senior Australia women's national softball team and played in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Softball was featured at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in its first Olympic appearance since 2008. The tournament consisted of six teams. Baseball/softball was one of five optional sports added to the program of the 2020 Summer Olympics. The first six opening round games were played at Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium in an effort to highlight Fukushima's recovery from the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, while the remaining games were played at Yokohama Stadium. Softball will not return in 2024.
Kelly Katlyn Barnhill is an American professional softball pitcher. She played college softball for the Florida Gators from 2016 to 2019, earning All-American honors during her tenure with the team. She was named the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, Honda Sports Award, and espnW Player of the Year in 2017. She is the career no hitters (7), strikeouts, strikeout ratio (10.5) and WHIP leader for the Gators. She also ranks in career strikeout ratio for both the Southeastern Conference and the NCAA Division I.
Rachel Lauren Garcia is an American former softball pitcher. She most recently served as the pitching coach for UC San Diego. She played college softball for the UCLA Bruins and led the Bruins to the 2019 Women's College World Series championship, where she was named the Most Outstanding Player.
Xeana Kamalani Dung, also known as "Kama Dung", is an American, right-handed softball pitcher, model, actress, and philanthropist from Waianae, Hawaii. She is a gold medalist and is known as the first professional softball pitcher from Hawaii. Dung is currently a professional softball player who pitches on the Puerto Rican national softball team and in the Athletes Unlimited Softball league. She has competed in a number of international tournaments and has gained a large following as an international and collegiate athlete. Dung was the former starting pitcher for the Fresno State Bulldogs and California Golden Bears.
Eujenna "Jenna" Afrodite Caira is a Canadian, former collegiate All-American, medal-winning Olympian, professional softball pitcher for the Canadian Wild of the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF). Caira was a starting pitcher for the Syracuse Orange from 2009–12 and holds the career records in wins, shutouts and innings pitched. Additionally, she is the Big East Conference career leader in strikeouts. She has been a member of the Canada women's national softball team since June 2009 and helped them win a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Kathy Arendsen is an American softball head coach and former professional player. Arendsen pitched for Holland Christian High School, where she won the state championship, before embarking on a successful collegiate and professional career. During her college years, Arendsen pitched for Texas Woman's University and California State University, Chico, where she led both teams to national championships. In recognition of her efforts, she received the 1978 Broderick Award as the nation's outstanding female athlete in softball. She was also selected to pitch for Team USA at the 1979 and 1983 Pan American Games, winning a gold and silver medal respectively.
Ellen Roberts is an Australian, former collegiate, right-handed professional softball pitcher. Roberts played for Ogaki Minamo in the Japan Diamond Softball League.
Taylah Tsitsikronis is an Australian female softball Olympian. She was born in Sydney, Australia on 3 July 1994.
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