Samuel Von Einem

Samuel von Einem
2016 Australian Paralympic Team Portrait
Personal information
Nationality Australia
Born (1995-06-21) 21 June 1995
Sport
Country Australia
Sport Table Tennis
Medal record
Table tennis
Representing  Australia
Paralympic Games
2016 RioMen's Singles Class 11

Samuel "Sam" Von Einem (born 21 June 1995) is an Australian table tennis player. Von Einem has represented Australia in table tennis at several tournaments since 2011 and has been selected in the Australian Team at the 2016 Paralympic Games in September.[1] He won the silver medal in the Men's Class 11 at the Rio Paralympics and became Australia's first table tennis medalist since Terry Biggs won gold in 1984.[2]

Personal

Von Einem was born on 21 June 1995 and is from Glengowrie, SA. Diagnosed with autism,[3] he started playing tennis when he was five years old. In 2003, his family moved to Abu Dhabi where the hot climate helped him find his new passion of playing table tennis indoors.[4] Von Einem has completed a Cert IV in Bookkeeping at TAFE SA – Adelaide City.[1]

Table tennis

Von Einem is a class 11 table tennis player, which means he competes in a division of players with an intellectual disability.[4] Von Einem began competing in table tennis in 2007 and made his first international debut in 2011 when he was selected to represent Australia at the World Junior Circuit event held in Dedeo, Guam. Aged, 16 Von Einem won a silver medal as part of the Under 18 Junior Team.[4][5] In 2015, Von Einem was confirmed as a class 11 athlete which made him eligible for international ranking points and the Paralympic Games. Not long after receiving this confirmation, Von Einem achieved a new career highlight where he competed in the men’s singles at the Spanish Para Open in June 2015. Von Einem held off a strong French opponent to win gold in the Class 11.[6]

At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, he won the silver medal in the Men's Class 11. He lost to world number one Florian Van Acker 2-3 (8-11, 18-16, 13-11, 5-11, 8-11).[2]

Other achievements include :

  • Winner of Class 11 singles at the 2013 Oceania Para Regionals[7][8]
  • Bronze medal in Class 11 singles at both the 2014 Hungary & Italian Para Open[8][9]
  • Silver medal in Class 11 teams with Rory Carroll at the 2014 Italian Para Open[8][9]
  • Open Singles and Class 11 Singles winner at the 2014 National AWD Championships[8]

Von Einem trains at Woodville District Table Tennis Club and is coached by David Lowe.[8]

Recognition

He has won the Table Tennis Australia Para Athlete of the Year Award in 2014 and 2016.[8][10] [11]

References

  1. 1 2 "2016 Paralympic co-captain leads the way for 5-strong Para-table tennis team | Australian Paralympic Committee". Paralympic.org.au. 2016-04-27. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
  2. 1 2 "Samuel Von Einem". Rio Paralympics Official site. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  3. ↑ http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/olympics-2016/rio-2016-olympics-sam-von-einem-grabs-australias-first-table-tennis-medal-in-32-years/news-story/dfeaaba2256911c1f8daf3a9135c8170
  4. 1 2 3 "Samuel Von Einem - Australian Paralympic Committee". Paralympic.org.au. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
  5. ↑ "Medal Rush for Australian Para Team". Tabletennis.org.au. 2015-07-27. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
  6. ↑ "Australia's Sam von Einem takes home Gold Spanish Para Open | Australian Paralympic Committee". Paralympic.org.au. 2015-06-23. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
  7. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Sam Von Einem – Ranked 3rd in the World and 2014 Para Athlete of the Year Award! | Woodville District Table Tennis Club". Wdttc.org. 2014-05-04. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
  9. 1 2 Michael PollockMarch 26, 2014, 5:30 a.m. (2014-03-26). "Table tennis: Carroll claims silver at Italian titles". The Courier. Retrieved 2016-05-22.
  10. ↑ Table Tennis Australia: Arthur Wilks Para Athlete of the Year Award
  11. ↑ "Von Einem named Table Tennis Para-athlete of the Year". Australian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
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