Saori Kimura (木村 沙織, Kimura Saori, born August 19, 1986) is a retired Japanese volleyball player who played for Toray Arrows. She also played for the All-Japan women's volleyball team and was a captain of the team. She was a participant at the 2004 Summer Olympics, 2008 Summer Olympics, 2012 Summer Olympics and 2016 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal in 2012.[2] She was so versatile that she could play any position.
| Saori Kimura | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Saori Kimura | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Japan's future Infinite Saorin (ニッポンの未来 サオリン無限大), and Miracle Saorin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | August 19, 1986 Yashio, Saitama, Japan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 65 kg (143 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spike | 304 cm (120 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Block | 293 cm (115 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Volleyball information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing-spiker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Retired | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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On 10 July 2012, Toray announced that Kimura will move to VakıfBank Türk Telekom next season.[3]
On 3 June 2013, Daikin (which is a sponsor of Galatasaray Daikin) announced that Kimura will move to Galatasaray Daikin next season.[4]
On 5 June 2014, Toray Arrows announced Kimura would join the next season.[5]
In 2017, Kimura announced her retirement.
Clubs edit
| Club | Country | Year |
| Shimokitazawa Seitoku Highschool |  Japan
|
2002–2005 |
| Toray Arrows | Japan
|
2005–2012 |
| VakıfBank |  Turkey
|
2012–2013 |
| Galatasaray | Turkey
|
2013–2014 |
| Toray Arrows | Japan
|
2014–2017 |
Awards edit
Individuals edit
- The 12th Women's V.League - New Face Award (2005–06)
- 2007 14th Senior Asian Championship at Thailand - Best Server
- 2007-08 All Japan Championship 2008 - MVP
- 2007-08 Women's V.Premier League - Best 6
- 2008-09 Women's V.Premier League - Best 6
- 2009 58th Kurowashi Tournament - MVP
- 2009 15th Senior Asian Championship at Vietnam - Best Server
- 2009-10 Women's V.Premier League MVP, Best 6
- 2010 59th Kurowashiki Tournament MVP, Best6
- 2010 Piemonte Woman Cup Tournament - Best Server and MVP
- 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix "Best Scorer"
- 2010-11 Women's V.Premier League - Excellent player award
- 2011 60th Kurowashi Tournament - Best6
- 2011-12 Women's V.Premier League Best 6
Clubs edit
- 2007 Domestic Sports Festival (Volleyball) -
Champion, with Toray Arrows. - 2007-2008 Empress's Cup - Champion, with Toray Arrows.
- 2007-2008 V.Premier League - Champion, with Toray Arrows.
- 2008 Domestic Sports Festival -
Runner-Up, with Toray Arrows. - 2008-2009 V.Premier League - Champion, with Toray Arrows.
- 2009 Kurowashiki All Japan Volleyball Championship - Champion, with Toray Arrows.
- 2009-2010 V.Premier League - Champion, with Toray Arrows.
- 2010 Kurowashiki All Japan Volleyball Championship - Champion, with Toray Arrows.
- 2010-2011 Empress's Cup - Runner-Up, with Toray Arrows.
- 2010-2011 V.Premier League - Runner-Up, with Toray Arrows.
- 2011-2012 Empress's Cup - Champion, with Toray Arrows.
- 2011-2012 V.Premier League - Champion, with Toray Arrows.
- 2012-13 Turkish Cup - Champion, with Vakıfbank Spor Kulübü
- 2012–13 CEV Champions League - Champion, with Vakıfbank Spor Kulübü
- 2012-13 Turkish Women's Volleyball League - Champion, with Vakıfbank Spor Kulübü
National team edit
Senior Team edit
- 2003: 5th place in the World Cup in Japan
- 2004: 5th place in the Olympic Games of Athens in Greece
- 2005:
Bronze Medal in the 13th Senior Asian Championship in China - 2006: 6th place in the World Championship in Japan
- 2006:
Silver Medal in Asian Games 2006 in Qatar - 2007:
Gold Medal in the 14th Senior Asian Championship in Thailand - 2007: 7th place in the World Cup in Japan
- 2008: 6th place in the World Grand Prix Final round in Japan
- 2008: 5th place in the Olympic Games of Beijing in China
- 2009: 6th place in the World Grand Prix Final round in Japan
- 2009: Bronze Medal in the 15th Senior Asian Championship in Vietnam
- 2009: 4th place in the World Grand Champion Cup in Japan
- 2010: Gold Medal in Piemonte Woman Cup Tournament in Italy
- 2010: 5th place in the World Grand Prix Final round in China
- 2010: Bronze Medal in the World Championship in Japan
- 2011: Gold Medal in the Montreux Volley Masters in Switzerland
- 2011: 5th place in the World Grand Prix Final round in Macau, China
- 2011:
Silver Medal in the 16th Senior Asian Championship in Taiwan - 2011: 4th place in the World Cup in Japan
- 2012:
Bronze Medal in the Olympic Games of London in the U.K. - 2013: 4th place in the World Grand Prix Final round in Japan
- 2013: Silver medal in the Asian Championship in Thailand
- 2013: Bronze Medal in the Grand Champions Cup in Japan
- 2014: Silver medal in the 2014 Grand Prix in Japan
- 2014: 7th place in the World Championship in Italy
- 2015: Silver medal in the Montreux Volley Masters in Switzerland
- 2015: 6th place in the World Grand Prix Final round in the United States
- 2015: 5th place in the World Cup in Japan
- 2016: 5th place in the Olympic Games of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil
References edit
- ^ "Japanese Medalists in London 2012 Olympics". joc.or.jp. Japanese Olympic Committee. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- ^ "Saori Kimura Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
- ^ Toray Arrows. "木村沙織選手のトルコ1部リーグへの移籍について". Archived from the original on 2013-09-09. Retrieved 2012-07-10.
- ^ ダイキン工業. "木村沙織選手がトルコのバレーボールチーム「ガラタサライ・ダイキン」に移籍". Retrieved 2013-06-03.
- ^ Toray Arrows. "東レアローズ女子バレーボール部への木村沙織選手の入団について". Archived from the original on 2015-01-02. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
External links edit
- Saori Kimura at the European Volleyball Confederation
- Saori Kimura at WorldofVolley
- Saori Kimura at V.League (archived) (in Japanese)
- Saori Kimura at Olympedia
- FIVB Biography Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
- Toray Arrows Women's Volleyball Team (in Japanese)
- FIVB VOLLEYBALL World Cup 2007 Archived 2008-09-28 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese)
