Factory worker Rachel Lack ready to produce for Australian softballer at Blacktown tournament
In the first of a NewsLocal series tracking our athletes on the road to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, we meet a big hitting factory worker chasing Games gold.
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If ever Rachel Lack needs a little inspiration it is close at hand at the Sydney factory owned by her family.
There, the Australian softballer is surrounded by the trappings of sporting success with the Riverwood factory producing medals and trophies.
And it’s a medal Lack, who works in the factory when not training and playing, hopes to chasing at next years Olympics in Tokyo when softball makes its long-awaited return to the Games arena.
A major step in this journey for both the Bigola softballer and her teammates is the Asia Pacific Cup at Blacktown International Sportspark from January 30 to February 2.
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Aussie Spirit will play Olympic-bound Mexico and Italy, along with the 2020 Games host nation and world No. 2 side Japan.
“It’s really important for us and such a big opportunity to play top international teams before the Olympics,’’ said the Australian utility player who studied and played for the University of Hawaii for two years.
“It will be a great sounding board for us.’’
A powerful hitter with a strong arm, the 25-year-old said she has been dreaming of playing at an Olympics since she was a child.
She also knows the Blacktown tournament will play a role in the selection of the Australian team to play in Tokyo in 2020.
“This is also another opportunity to see where those teams are at, do some scouting and reconnaissance,’’ said Lack, who does process work, engraving and quality control at the factory.
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Softball is back on the Olympic program for the first time since 2008 after being dumped from the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Games.
Australia had previously won a medal in every Olympic tournament, with a bronze in Atlanta (1996), Sydney (2000) and Beijing (2008) and silver in Athens (2004).
The only other country to win a softball medal at all four Olympics are the US with three gold medals and a silver.
At the Asia Pacific Cup a second Australian team will also compete along with Chinese Taipei and New Zealand.
Only two Olympic nations, Canada and the US, will be missing from the Blacktown tournament.
Australia were the final team to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics with softball to be played from July 22-28 at Yokohama and Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadiums at the 2020 Games.
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The Australians won all five games in their qualifier, scoring 37 runs and allowing only four against, batting at an impressive average of .400 as a team, and perfect defensively with no errors committed in the field.