Nationality Australia Sport Table Tennis | Country Australia | |
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Born 21 June 1995 (age 21) ( 1995-06-21 ) | ||
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. 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.
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Personal
Von Einem was born on 21 June 1995 and is from Glengowrie, SA. Diagnosed with autism, 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. Von Einem has completed a Cert IV in Bookkeeping at TAFE SA – Adelaide City.
Table tennis
Von Einem is a class 11 table tennis player, which means he competes in a division of players with an intellectual disability. 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. 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.
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).
Other achievements include :
Von Einem trains at Woodville District Table Tennis Club and is coached by David Lowe.
Recognition
He has won the Table Tennis Australia Para Athlete of the Year Award in 2014 and 2016.