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, 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 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 in a spectacular fashion, finished third in her repechage heat behind Belarus' Natallia Tsylinskaya and Cuba's Lisandra Guerra, and then placed twelfth overall in a single four-rider 200 m race to round out the field.
Career highlights 2006 6th Asian Games (Sprint), Doha (QAT) 2007 UCI B World Championships (Keirin), Cape Town (RSA) UCI B World Championships (Sprint), Cape Town (RSA) 2008 12th Olympic Games (Sprint), Beijing (CHN) 27th UCI World Championships (Sprint), Manchester (GBR) 2013 Japanese Track Cycling Championships (Pursuit), Japan
References
External links NBC 2008 Olympics profile