Laurens Devos
Laurens Devos (born 15 August 2000) is a Belgian table tennis player. At the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won the gold medal in the Class 9 (for players with hemiparesis) table tennis competition.
Laurens Devos lives in Oostmalle.[1][2] The son of Mario Devos and Christel, he has 2 brothers and a twin sister, Isabel. His 6 years older brother Robin Devos is as of 14 September 2016 the second-highest ranked able-bodied Belgian table tennis player, ranked number 119 on the World Ranking.[3]
Caused by a lack of oxygen at birth, Laurens suffers from mild hemiplegia which results in a loss of mobility on the right side of his body.[4][5] He plays left-handed. He studies at the Topsportschool in Leuven, where he is the only student with a disability.[6] Laurens Devos was ranked world number 2 in his class before going to the Paralympics. In 2014 he won the GDF Suez Trophy (the award for most promising young Belgian para-athlete).[7] He won the 2015 European Championships in Vejle, Denmark.[1][2] He is national table tennis champion in his age category (able-bodied category).[5][6]
With his victory over Dutch Gerben Last in 3 straight sets, Devos became the youngest player ever to win table tennis gold at the Paralympics.[8]
At the 2016 ITTF Star Awards, Devos won Male Para Table Tennis Star, the award for Paralympic table tennis player of the year.[9]
Devos reached the first round of the 2016 World Junior Table Tennis Championships, but then lost 4-3 from the Austrian Andreas Levenko.[10]
On 17 December 2016, Devos was named the Paralympian of the Year at the Belgian Sportsman of the year ceremony.[11]
External links
Notes
- ^ a b Matthyssen, Kristin (12 September 2016). "Familie Laurens Devos stomverbaasd over gouden plak: "Bangelijk!"". Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 September 2016.
- ^ a b "Laurens Devos" (in Dutch). Sporza.be. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
- ^ "World Ranking". International Table Tennis Federation. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Laurens Devos, un ado en or". La Libre Belgique (in French). 12 September 2016.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ a b Bernaers, Dieter (13 September 2016). "Mentaliteit wint van fysieke drempels". De Morgen (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 September 2016.
- ^ a b Frans, Koen (13 September 2016). ""Laurens kan ook medailles winnen op de gewone Olympische Spelen"". Sport Planet (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 September 2016.
- ^ "Rolstoelatlete Marieke Vervoort laureate Nationale Trofee Victor Boin 2014". De Morgen. Belga. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
- ^ "Belgium's Laurens Devos makes table tennis history". Paralympic.org. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
- ^ "Laurens Devos wint internationale Star Award" (in Dutch). De Morgen. Belga. 8 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ^ "Cnudde naar tweede ronde in enkelspel op WK tafeltennis voor junioren, Loyen en Lung naar kwartfinales in dubbelspel" (in Dutch). Het Belang van Limburg. Belga. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ^ Belgian Paralympic Committee (19 December 2016). "Laurens Devos named Belgian Paralympian of the Year". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 20 December 2016.