Softball

US ran roughshod over the field at the Games, giving up only one run on their way to gold, and IOC officials have questioned whether the sport should continue as an Olympic event.

US dominance of softball, with three straight Olympic golds, has raised questions about whether the event should remain in the Games.

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US women ran roughshod over the field at the Athens Games, giving up only one run on their way to gold, and International Olympic Committee officials have questioned whether the sport should continue as an Olympic event.

Asked whether softball was on the chopping block, International Softball Federation President Don Porter said: "There is a concern, certainly."

Softball is safe for the Beijing Olympics in 2008, but it may be cut from the Olympic lineup in 2012, officials said.

IOC President Jacques Rogge sat with Porter to watch his first softball game and saw first-hand how powerful the US.

team were as they blitzed Australia 5-1 in the gold medal game.

It was the 79th straight victory in international play for the red, white and blue.

Porter told a news conference that two years ago, the IOC said softball was at risk, but the sport was doing a good job meeting fresh criteria the IOC has set for participation.

Simon Roskvist, the Australian softball head coach whose team took the silver, and Shan McDonald, head coach of China, said US strength was a positive because it made them raise the level of their teams.

Olympic host Greece joined the few nations that play Olympic softball, fielding a team of mostly Greek-American imports, but there are few nations that play the sport at a high level.

US star Lisa Fernandez said she hoped the competition in Athens, played mostly in front of sparse crowds, helped to spur interest in softball in Europe.

"I would hate to see us get penalized for trying to raise the bar and bring excellence into this arena," Fernandez said.