Laura Kay Berg (born January 6, 1975 in Santa Fe Springs, California) is an American softball player who plays the position of center fielder. She is one of only four women to have won four Olympic medals in softball, having won a medal at every Olympics the sport was contested.

Early life and collegiate career

Berg was born on January 6, 1975 to Harvey and Audrey Berg, along with her twin sister Randi Berg. Both Berg sisters enrolled at Fresno State and started for the school’s softball team. During their four years, Berg would be named an all-Western Athletic Conference and all-American each year, and would help Fresno State win the 1998 Women’s College World Series.
National team

Berg would also join the United States national team in 1994, participating in the 1994 ISF Women’s World Championship, where the US team won the gold medal. Berg redshirted at Fresno State in 1996, the year that she won her first Olympic gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. In 1998, she won her second gold medal at the world championships. At the 1999 Pan American Games Berg performed well in the gold medal effort, batting .375 for the tournament with fifteen hits. In the 2000 Summer Olympics Berg drove in the winning run in the eighth inning of the gold medal game.

From 2000 to 2003 she was an assistant coach at Fresno State, while continuing to participate at tournaments with the national team. She added gold medals at the 2002 World Championships and 2003 Pan American Games to her resume, batting .471 in the Pan-Americans. In the 2004 Athens Olympics she started eight of the nine games, batting .368, and held a perfect fielding average. She returned to Fresno State’s coaching staff for 2005 and 2006, and in 2006 won her fourth consecutive World Championship in Beijing. Berg’s four World Championship appearances is a record for the event.

In 2007 Berg returned to her third Pan American Games, where she won another gold medal, and was chosen to carry the U.S. flag during the closing ceremonies. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, she captured a silver medal with the U.S. team, the only time in Olympic history the United States did not win the gold medal.

Other awards and honors

2005 International Sports Invitational Champion
2001 Played for WPSL Gold professional team consisting of 2000 Olympians
WAC Champions- Fresno State
Second FSU player to record 100 or more hits in a season
Four-time NFCA All-American (three First-Team and one Third-Team)
Four-time NCAA All-Regional Team