Yūko Sano

Yūko Sano
November 2007
portrait
Date of birth	July 26, 1979
place of birth	Takatsuki, Japan
size	1.59 m
position	Libero
societies
1998–2000 2000–2003 2004–2006 2006–2010 since 2010	Unitika Phoenix Toray Arrows RC Cannes Hisamitsu Springs Igtisadchi Baku
National team
since 2002	A national team
successes
2003 2005 2005 2005 2006 2006 2006 2007 2007 2008 2008 2009 2009 2009 2010 2011 2012	Asian runners-up French cup winners French champions Third Asian championships French cup winners French champions Champions League finalists Japanese champions Asian champions Japanese cups finalists Olympic fifth Japanese cup winners Japanese runners-up third Asian championships World Cup third runners-up Asian champions Olympic bronze
Status: August 20, 2012

Yūko Sano ( Japanese 佐野 優 子 , Sano Yūko ; born July 26, 1979 in Takatsuki , Osaka Prefecture ) is a Japanese volleyball player . She took part in two Olympic Games and won the bronze medal in 2012.

Career

Sano began her career at the Kitasaga High School of Kyōto Prefecture ( Kyōtofu-ritsu Kitasaga kōtō-gakkō ). In 1998 she joined Unitika Phoenix and two years later she moved to Toray Arrows . In 2002 she made her debut in the Japanese national team , with which she took part in the World Cup in Germany . The following year, Japan finished second in the Asian Cup . From 2004 to 2006 the Libera played in France at RC Cannes . With the club she won the cup and championship double twice. In 2006 Cannes also reached the final of the Champions League . Then Sano returned home. With Hisamitsu Springs she was Japanese champion in 2007. The national team won the Asian Cup in the same year. In 2008, Libera reached the cup final with the club. In Beijing she took part in the Olympic tournament , which Japan finished in fifth place after reaching the quarter-finals. In 2009 Hisamitsu Springs was cup winner and runner-up. With the national team, Sano took third place at the Asian Cup. The same result was achieved for Japan at the 2010 World Cup . In the same year, Sano moved to Azerbaijan to Igtisadchi Baku . In 2011 she reached the final of the Asian Cup. A year later she played in London for the second time at the Olympic Games and won bronze.

Web links

Commons : Yūko Sano  - Collection of Images

• Yūko Sano in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Profile at FIVB (English)