Tanya Harding

Tanya Harding
Medal record
Women's Softball
Representing  Australia
Olympic Games
1996 AtlantaTeam
2000 SydneyTeam
2004 AthensTeam
2008 BeijingTeam

Tanya Victoria Harding (born 23 January 1972 in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian softball player, who has competed for Australia at four consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1996. Three times she claimed a bronze medal (1996, 2000, 2008), and once a silver medal (2004).

The Queenslander was ranked in the top five pitchers in the world for over a decade. [1]

In 1995, Harding enrolled at UCLA for one trimester. She played on the squad that won the NCAA women's softball championships, defeating Arizona. She left the school after the tournament.[2] She was named most valuable player for the championship tournament.[3]

However, in 1997 UCLA was stripped of its 1995 title for scholarship violations. Three softball players had been granted soccer scholarships, putting the Bruins three over the limit for softball. Although the three players involved were not identified, it was believed that one of them was Harding.[4] Runner-up Arizona was not declared the champion, as there was no way to determine if Arizona would have won had Harding not been involved. Officially, there is no champion for 1995.

Notes

  1. ↑ "Australian Olympic Committee: Tanya Harding". corporate.olympics.com.au.
  2. ↑ "SPORTS PEOPLE: WOMEN'S SOFTBALL;'Not a Hired Gun,' Says Tanya Harding". The New York Times. 13 June 1995. Retrieved 22 October 2006.
  3. ↑ "NCAA Division I Softball Championships". Archived from the original on 23 February 2002. Retrieved 22 October 2006.
  4. ↑ Hawai'i's not the first to vacate NCAA title. The Honolulu Advertiser, 6 September 2003.


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