Erika Araki

Erika Araki
October 2009
portrait
Date of birth	3rd August 1984
place of birth	Kurashiki, Japan
size	1.86 m
position	Middle block
societies
2003–2008 2008–2009 since 2009	Toray Arrows Foppapedretti Bergamo Toray Arrows
National team
since 2003	A national team
successes
2003 2005 2007 2008 2008 2008 2009 2009 2010 2010 2011 2011 2012 2012 2012	Asian runner-up third Asian championship Asian champions Japanese cup winners Japanese champions Olympic fifth Champions League winner Third Asian championships Japanese champions World championship third Japanese cup winners Japanese runner-ups Japanese champions Asian runner-up champions Olympic bronze
Status: August 20, 2012

Erika Araki ( Japanese 荒木 絵 里 香 , Araki Erika ; born August 3, 1984 in Kurashiki ) is a Japanese volleyball player . She took part in two Olympic Games and won the bronze medal in 2012.

Career

After Araki was initially active in swimming and athletics as a child , she began volleyball at the age of ten and played in the team of the private Seitoku Gakuen High School (today: Shimokitazawa Seitoku High School). In 2003 she was signed by Toray Arrows . In the same year, the middle blocker made her debut in the Japanese national team , with which she reached the final of the Asian Cup. In 2005 there was a third place in the same competition. The following year, Araki reached sixth place with the national team at the World Cup in their own country. In 2007 Japan became Asian champions. In 2008 Araki achieved the national double of cup victory and championship with her club. She then took part with the national team in the Olympic tournament in Beijing , which ended in fifth place for Japan after being eliminated in the quarter-finals. After the tournament, she moved to the Italian league to Foppapedretti Bergamo . With Bergamo she won the Champions League in 2009 . At the 2009 Asian Cup, Japan finished third this time. Araki returned home after a season in Italy and again won the Japanese championship with Toray Arrows in 2010. In the same year the Japanese came third at the 2010 World Cup . In the following season Arakis club was cup winner and runner-up. In 2012 the Toray Arrows celebrated the next championship title. With the national team, Araki reached second place in the Asian Cup in 2012. In London she took part in the Olympic Games for the second time and won the bronze medal.

Web links

Commons : Erika Araki  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Erika Araki in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Profile at FIVB (English)
• Profile at legavolleyfemminile.it (Italian)
• Profile at the Toray Arrows (Japanese)