when was softball first played in the olympics
1996
title: Softball at the Summer Olympics text: semifinal team with the best record automatically advanced to the finals. "[T]he other semifinal winner plays the team that lost to the superior seminal winner. The winner of this game goes to the final." The softball games were held in Columbus, Georgia (approximately 100 miles from the main Olympic Games site of Atlanta, Georgia). Countries competing at the 1996Summer Olympics included the United States, China, Australia, Japan, Canada, Taiwan, the Netherlands and Puerto Rico. This was the first time softball was on the Olympic programme. The United States finished first, China second and Australia third. The Games were held in title: Softball at the Summer Olympics text: governing body for the sport must have at least twenty-nine national federations affiliated with it. At the time, softball only had fifteen national bodies affiliated with it. Despite being eligible for inclusion on the programme by 1969, it was not because Olympic organisers determined the sport, alongside roller skating and water skiing was "too big and too expensive." Efforts continued to get softball on the Olympic programme during the 1970s, with the hope of the 1984 Summer Olympics being held in the United States meaning softball could at least be a demonstration sport. This did not materialise. The Barcelona Olympic title: Softball at the Summer Olympics text: States repeated their victory at the 2000 Games when they beat Japan 3-1 in the gold medal game and again in 2004. Japan won the tournament in 2008. Softball at the Summer Olympics Softball at the Summer Olympics was on the Olympic programme from 1996 to 2008. Softball was removed from the programme for 2012 and 2016, but was added, along with baseball, for the 2020 Summer Olympics. During the 1940s, Americans and Japanese were making the first overtures to get softball included on the Olympic programme. This effort was led by the American softball association and Jiro Iwano, Vice title: Softball at the Summer Olympics text: Softball at the Summer Olympics Softball at the Summer Olympics was on the Olympic programme from 1996 to 2008. Softball was removed from the programme for 2012 and 2016, but was added, along with baseball, for the 2020 Summer Olympics. During the 1940s, Americans and Japanese were making the first overtures to get softball included on the Olympic programme. This effort was led by the American softball association and Jiro Iwano, Vice President of the Japanese Olympic Committee and President of the Japanese Softball Association. There were efforts to get softball on the Olympic program during the 1950s. In 1950, title: Softball at the Summer Olympics text: 12, 2018 the first team to qualify for the 2020 Olympics was The United States, by winning the 2018 World Championship. Japan automatically qualifies by being the host country. The first solo no-hitter to be pitched at the Olympics was done by the American pitcher Lori Harrigan in a game against Canada at the 2000 Summer Olympics. The first side to beat the host country in softball was Australia at the 1996 Summer Olympics. The USA team lost this game primarily because of a base running error in which a home run was hit but the runner failed to touch