Keiko Kato
| Born | 7 August 1988 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 162 cm (5 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 61 kg (134 lb; 9 st 8 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Keiko Kato (born 7 August 1988) is a Japanese rugby union player. She competed for Japan at the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup.
Early life and career
Kato started playing rugby at the age of seven.[1] She played basketball in Josho Gakuen Junior High School.[1] After graduating from Josho Gakuen High School in 2007, she entered Hosei University.[1]
Rugby career
In 2008, she made her international debut for the Japanese women's sevens team at the Hong Kong Sevens.[1] A year later, she appeared for the Japanese sevens side in the Sevens World Cup in Dubai.[1][2]
In 2010, she studied abroad in England, and also played for the Richmond Rugby Club for a year.[3][4]
After graduating from Hosei University in 2012, she worked for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and also played for the Setagaya Ladies rugby club.[1]
Kato won a silver medal at the 2014 Asian Games.[5] In 2016, she was selected as a non-travelling reserve for the Japanese sevens team for the Rio Olympics.[6][7]
In 2017, she featured for the Sakura fifteens in the Asian Women's Championship ahead of the World Cup.[8] She subsequently made the Sakura fifteens side for the Women's Rugby World Cup in Ireland.[9][10]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "東京五輪 x 「Team常翔」 | 学園広報誌「FLOW」| 学校法人 常翔学園". www.josho.ac.jp. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "「ワールドカップセブンズ2009 ドバイ大会」7人制女子日本代表メンバー/スケジュール｜日本ラグビーフットボール協会". www.rugby-japan.jp (in Japanese). 2009-03-01. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "WOMEN'S INTERNATIONALS". www.richmondfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Mead, Alex (2018-11-20). "Richmond Rugby announce unique rugby partnership with Shibuya of Japan". Rhino Direct. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "「第17回アジア競技大会」男女セブンズ日本代表メンバー｜日本ラグビーフットボール協会". www.rugby-japan.jp (in Japanese). 2014-09-16. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Japan names Olympic 7s squads". Americas Rugby News. 2016-07-18. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Japan announce Olympic Sevens squads". Planet Rugby. 2016-07-18. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Japan too hot for Hong Kong to handle". www.world.rugby. 2017-07-08. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "「女子ラグビーワールドカップ2017 アイルランド大会」女子日本代表メンバー及び遠征スケジュール｜日本ラグビーフットボール協会". www.rugby-japan.jp (in Japanese). 2017-07-30. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "#WRWC2017 Team Profile: Japan". Irish Rugby. 2017-07-31. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)