Belinda White

Fast Facts

Sport: Softball
Olympic History: Tokyo 2020
Year Born: 1988
State Born: SA

About Belinda

Belinda White got into sports playing T-ball with her older brother, who went on to play baseball. She sought out success in softball and hasn't looked back. She realised her Olympic dream while watching the Aussie Spirit at the Beijing 2008 Games, whilst fighting in a tiebreaker fixture. 

Belinda was a member of the Australian U23 Invitational team in 2007-09, being named Most Valuable Player in her second season. She also earned Rookie honours in her first year playing in the Australian Open Women's National Championships in 2008. 

White played college softball at Troy University in Alabama, where she majored in Sports and Fitness Management. She played two seasons as a catcher for the Troy Trojans. 

After suffering a minor shoulder injury, the postponement of the 2020 Olympic games gave Belinda the opportunity to undergo the full rehab process. She remained a key member of the Sturt Falcons Softball Club, committing her career to the South Australian team despite other lucrative offers. 

Outside of the diamond, Belinda also plays in the Premier League for the Adelaide-based Woodville Hockey Club, switching bat for stick. 

White made her Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 games, competing alongside the women's softball team. Australia would face a first-round matchup against Japan, now not only the past Olympic champions but also the hosts of the event. In their opening fixture, the Aussies would fall to Japan (8)-(1) a rough loss to the hosts, who would go on to win consecutive Gold medals. 

Belinda would help Australia bounce back in their second fixture of the games, where they would hold a (1)-(0) lead against Italy until the end of the tie. They would not, however, continue this run of form, later falling to eventual bronze medalists in Canada. 

This would set up a must-win match against the United States, one of the strongest teams competing in the discipline. Australia would fall agonisingly close to a result against the US, in a fixture that would remain scoreless for 7 innings and required to go into extras. The United States would ultimately edge out the match, winning (2) - (1). 

In their final game, Australia would play Mexico for a place in the bronze medal match. The team would, unfortunately, fail to qualify for their third medal consecutive medal matchup, losing the match (4) - (1).