The future of the Canadian softball team at the Olympics would be bright, if only the future of the sport itself wasn’t so bleak.
The young Canadian squad that finished fourth with a 5-3 loss to Australia yesterday is loaded with young talent which now has Olympic experience.
That won’t do any good at the next Games because softball isn’t even on the program.
The International OlymÂpic Committee dropped it and baseball for the 2012 Games in London. Both sports have applied for reinstatement for 2016.
Japan and defending champion U.S. meet in the gold-medal game today in a rematch of yesterday’s Page playoff between the top two seeds. The Americans won 4-1 in nine innings.
After beating Canada, Australia fell 4-3 in 12 innings to Japan in the semifinal and took the bronze medal. Canada’s fourth-place finish was its best at the Games. Canada was fifth in 1996 and 2004 and eighth in 2000.
