Softball ace Jennie Finch on retrieval mission

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jennie Finch, the stand-out of the U.S. softball dream team that rolled to a third straight Olympic gold in Athens, will be on a special quest in Beijing -- striking a blow for a return of her sport to future Games.

In 2005, for want of one vote, softball was dropped from the 2012 London Games programme after a 52-52 tie among International Olympic Committee delegates.

Critics had voiced concerns the U.S. were totally dominant in the sport and it lacked worldwide appeal. Baseball, the sport's diamond relation, was also dropped at the same time.

To ace softball pitcher Finch, who emerged from Athens as a popular figure, photogenic and with her arms full of endorsement deals, the elimination of her sport was devastating.

"It was a heartbreak to us all," Finch told Reuters in an interview. "It's just sad. It was terrible.

"At one point we're celebrating how far we've come in our sport. It's never been this popular. And then, boom, we're out of the 2012 Games.

"It was a blow to the heart. Kind of feels like we got punched in the stomach."

Like baseball, softball is played on a diamond but the field is smaller and the pitcher tosses underhand, albeit at blazing speeds. Men play softball as well but the Olympic version is a women's team sport.

Finch, the rest of the U.S. softball team and the leaders of the sport are not taking the 2005 vote sitting down.

"Our team attitude is it's just another roadblock and we're going to get through it," said Finch, whose blonde good looks and success on the diamond placed her among People Magazine's 50 most beautiful people.

TV APPEARANCES

Her achievements also made her top vote-getter as ESPN's 'Hottest Female Athlete' and led to various TV appearances.

"Our sport is still a great game," said Finch." That's why there's so much importance going into these 2008 Games to showcase how great our sport is and that it belongs in the Olympics."

While the players aim to make their case on the field, International Softball Federation president Don Porter has teamed up with former Olympic champion swimmer Donna de Varona to mount a "Back Softball" campaign aimed at the IOC.

"We're making progress," Porter, whose federation numbers 130 countries, told Reuters during a recent visit to New York.

"We're getting more young people involved in our sport. We have new disciplines besides what's being played in the Olympics such as indoor, we call it arena, beach softball and also wheelchair softball.

"We want to make sure it's as widespread as possible around the world."

De Varona, a 1964 double Olympic champion and women's sports advocate, vowed to fight on for softball.

"The IOC had a mandate," she said about encouraging women's sports. "I think this vote was a little premature and we hope to demonstrate that this sport is here to stay and that women around the world want to participate."

"The sport has grown," she continued. "Since it was added to the Olympic calendar in 1996, two million new players have come on board. To stop it, to give it the death sentence right now I think is a mistake."

Voting on the sports programme for the 2016 Games will be held next year in Copenhagen.

NEW FEDERATION

De Varona noted that the country of Jordan had set up a new softball federation and that she had recently returned from a training camp opening in Moscow. "We're on our way," she said.

Porter said the federation had provided more than $2.5 million worth of equipment to 70 countries to promote the sport and mentioned the Middle East as a target for expansion.

Changes had made the game more fan-friendly and work was continuing to try to achieve more TV exposure.

Finch, who has been touring the United States with the U.S. team feels deeply about what is at stake.

"We know how important it is," Finch said about putting on a good show in Beijing. "But at the same time it boils down to just being the best you can be.

"That's really the only thing we can do to showcase it. I'm going to put my trust in the game itself."

Finch, 27, is undecided about her future in the sport now that she has a young child to raise at home, though she is considering playing in the Japan pro league.

Her time in the Olympic spotlight, however, may end in Beijing.

She said: "My heart really goes out to the young ones on our team that would be continuing, playing in 2012, and to the college girls now who would be aspiring to do that.

"There's so many signs we see as we travel the country. 'Get the Olympics back in'. 'It took my dream away'. 'That one vote was my dream'. It gets you every time."

(Editing by Dave Thompson)