MODERN OLYMPIC EVENTS — SOFTBALL

 

 
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There is little soft about Olympic softball. One pitch at Atlanta was clocked at 118 kilometres per hour (73.3 mph). Considering the pitcher stands 13.1 metres (43 feet) from the batter, and the hardest-throwing baseball pitchers throw 160 kilometres per hour (99.4 mph) from 18.4 metres (60 feet), softball batters have essentially the same time to react as their baseball counterparts.

In addition, a softball is as hard as a baseball. The only difference being the size; a softball is 30.4cm (12 inches) in circumference and a baseball is 22.8cm (9 inches).

Eight teams compete at the Olympic Games in the discipline of women's fast pitch. The host country automatically has a spot because they are the host team, and the other seven teams qualify through world championships and various regional Olympic Qualifiers.

The teams compete in a single pool, playing each of the other seven once. The top four teams advance to the semi-finals, with the first-placed team playing the second-placed team and the third playing the fourth. The loser between teams 1 and 2 then plays the winner between teams 3 and 4, with that winner playing the winner between teams 1 and 2 for the championship.