is a Japanese track cyclist. She mounted a spirited challenge over South Africa's Tracey van Niekerk for the women's sprint gold medal at the 2007 UCI B World Championships in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...

, and later represented Japan at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Tsukuda qualified for her first Japanese squad, as a 22-year-old, in the women's sprint at the 2008 Summer Olympics in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

by receiving a berth from the UCI "B" World Championships in Cape Town, South Africa. After grabbing the twelfth and final seed in 12.134 (an average speed of 59.337 km/h) on the morning prelims, Tsukuda lost her first round match-up to Great Britain's top medal favorite

Victoria Pendleton Victoria Louise Pendleton, (born 24 September 1980) is a British jockey and former track cyclist who specialised in the sprint, team sprint and keirin disciplines. She is a former Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth champion. With tw ...

in a spectacular fashion, finished third in her repechage heat behind Belarus' Natallia Tsylinskaya and Cuba's

Lisandra Guerra Lisandra Guerra Rodriguez (born 31 October 1987, Matanzas) is a Cuban racing cyclist. Major results ;2005 :1st 500 m TT, UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Juniors :1st Sprint, UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Juniors :1s ...

, and then placed twelfth overall in a single four-rider 200 m race to round out the field.

Career highlights

;2006 * 6th

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until th ...

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Sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the c ...

(QAT) ;2007 * UCI B World Championships (Keirin),

(RSA) * UCI B World Championships (Sprint),

(RSA) ;2008 * 12th

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

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(CHN) * 27th

UCI World Championships The UCI world championships are annual competitions promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to determine world champion cyclists. They are held in several different styles of racing, in a different country each year. Championship winne ...

(

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

(GBR) ;2013 * Japanese Track Cycling Championships (Pursuit), Japan

References

External links

NBC 2008 Olympics profile
* 1985 births Living people Japanese female cyclists Japanese track cyclists Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2006 Asian Games Olympic cyclists of Japan People from Hokkaido Sportspeople from Hokkaido Asian Games competitors for Japan 20th-century Japanese women 21st-century Japanese women {{Japan-cycling-bio-stub