View source for Eric Sato

{{short description|American volleyball player (born 1966)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox volleyball biography
| name             = Eric Sato
| image            = 
| image_size       = 
| caption          = 
| fullname         = Eric Anthony Sato
| birth_date       = {{birth-date and age|May 5, 1966}}
| birth_place      = [[Santa Monica, California]], U.S.
| height           = 5'11"
| college          = Pepperdine University
| position         = Defensive specialist
| teamnumber       = 11 (1988)<br>14 (1992)
| death_date       = 
| death_place      = 
| nationalyears    = 1986–1994
| nationalteam     = {{vb|USA}}
| medaltemplates-title = Medal record
| medaltemplates   = 
{{MedalSport | Men's [[volleyball]] }}
{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}
[[File:Olympic rings.svg|center|80px]]
{{MedalCompetition | [[Volleyball at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[1988 Summer Olympics|1988 Seoul]] | [[Volleyball at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament|Indoor]] }}
{{MedalBronze | [[1992 Summer Olympics|1992 Barcelona]] | [[Volleyball at the 1992 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament|Indoor]] }}
{{MedalCompetition|[[FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship|World Championship]]}}
{{MedalGold | [[1986 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship|1986 France]]|[[1986 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship squads|Indoor]]}}
{{MedalBronze | [[1994 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship|1994 Greece]]|[[1994 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship squads|Indoor]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup|FIVB World Cup]]}}
{{MedalBronze | [[1991 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup|1991 Japan]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Pan American Games]]|Pan American Games}}
{{MedalGold | [[1987 Pan American Games|1987 Indianapolis]] | [[Volleyball at the 1987 Pan American Games|Indoor]]}}
}}

'''Eric Anthony Sato''' (born May 5, 1966) is an American former [[volleyball]] player and two-time Olympian. Sato was a member of the [[United States men's national volleyball team|United States national volleyball team]] that won the gold medal at the [[1988 Summer Olympics]] in [[Seoul]].<ref name="Olympedia" /> He also played in the [[1992 Summer Olympics]] in [[Barcelona]] and won a bronze medal.<ref name="Olympedia" /> He was a defensive specialist, and was widely considered to be the best defensive player in the world.<ref name="Olympedia" /><ref>{{cite web |title=The libero rules |last=Yost |first=Heather |website=[[NCAA]] |url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/NCAANewsArchive/1999/19990215/active/3604n14.html |date=1999 |access-date=July 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160724105518/http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/NCAANewsArchive/1999/19990215/active/3604n14.html |archive-date=July 24, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> After the Olympics, he played professional [[beach volleyball]].<ref name="Olympedia">{{Cite web |website=Olympedia |url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/53316 |title=Eric Sato |access-date=July 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416060938/https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/53316 |archive-date=April 16, 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Though {{convert|5|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}} in height, Sato's {{convert|41|in|m|abbr=on}} vertical jump allowed him to be an effective spiker for the national team, including from the back row.<ref name="Vertical">{{Cite news |title=Sato Helps U.S. Complete Sweep of Sweden |last=Hazeltine |first=Rick |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-07-30-sp-6712-story.html |date=July 30, 1988 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=April 6, 2024 }} {{subscription required}}</ref>

==College==

Sato played college volleyball at [[Pepperdine University]].<ref name="Olympedia" />

==Personal life==

Sato's sister [[Liane Sato|Liane]] played volleyball with the [[United States women's national volleyball team|United States women's national team]] in both the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics, capturing a bronze medal in 1992.<ref name="VolleyballMag" /><ref name="LATimes">{{cite web |title=Olympic Hopes Still Flourish for Volleyball Veteran Sato |last=Drooz |first=Alan |date=May 28, 1992 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-05-28-we-82-story.html |access-date=July 27, 2023 }} {{subscription required}}</ref><ref name="sister">{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-06-26-sp-1024-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |title=Ex-SDSU Standout on Women's Team |date=June 26, 1992 |access-date=June 27, 2023 }} {{subscription required}}</ref> For the Sato family, a capstone was the 1988 Olympics, when Eric and Liane were both competing, and their brother Gary was a coach on the men's volleyball team.<ref name="VolleyballMag">{{Cite web |url=https://volleyballmag.com/elissa-sato-100220/ |title=Family matriarch Elissa Sato leaves behind an incredible volleyball legacy |last=Chan |first=Ed |date=October 2, 2020 |website=Volleyball Magazine |access-date=July 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604033152/https://volleyballmag.com/elissa-sato-100220/ |archive-date=June 4, 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Olympics.com|eric-sato}}
* [https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/53316 Olympedia profile: Eric Sato]
* {{Beach Volleyball Database|1097}}
* [https://volleybox.net/eric-sato-p11466 Volleybox.net profile]
* {{Sports-Reference|id=sa/eric-sato-1.html|archive=20081210131949}}

{{refend}}

{{USA squad 1986 FIVB Men's World Championship}}
{{United States men's volleyball squad 1988 Summer Olympics}}
{{United States men's volleyball squad 1992 Summer Olympics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sato, Eric}}
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American men's volleyball players]]
[[Category:American men's beach volleyball players]]
[[Category:Volleyball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Volleyball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in volleyball]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in volleyball]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:American sportspeople of Japanese descent]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Santa Monica, California]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in volleyball]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]