Vladimir Samsonov

Vladimir Samsonov Uladzimir Samsonau
Samsonov at the 2013 World Championships
Personal information
Full name	Vladimir Viktorovich Samsonov; Uladzimir Viktaravich Samsonau[1]
Nickname(s)	Vladi
Nationality	Belarus
Born	(1976-04-17) 17 April 1976 (age 48)[2] Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union[3]
Height	190 cm (6 ft 3 in)[4]
Weight	83 kg (183 lb)
Table tennis career
Playing style	Right-handed, shakehand grip
Equipment(s)	Tibhar: blade – Samsonov VS Unlimited, rubbers – Evolution MX-P
Highest ranking	1 (December 1999)[5]
Club	Royal Villette Charleroi[3]
Medal record Men's table tennis Representing  Belarus World Championships 1995 Tianjin Doubles 1997 Manchester Singles 1999 Eindhoven Doubles World Cup 1999 Xiaolan Singles 2001 Courmayeur Singles 2009 Moscow Singles 2013 Verviers Singles 1996 Nimes Singles 1997 Nimes Singles 2012 Liverpool Singles European Championships 1996 Bratislava Mixed doubles 1998 Eindhoven Singles 1998 Eindhoven Doubles 2003 Courmayeur Singles 2003 Courmayeur Team 2005 Aarhus Singles 2005 Aarhus Doubles 2007 Belgrade Singles 2008 Saint-Petersburg Singles 2008 Saint-Petersburg Team 2010 Ostrava Team 2013 Schwechat Singles 1994 Birmingham Doubles 2012 Herning Doubles 2013 Schwechat Team 2015 Ekaterinburg Team European Games 2015 Baku Singles

Vladimir Samsonov or Uladzimir Samsonau (Belarusian: Уладзімір Віктаравіч Самсонаў, Russian: Владимир Викторович Самсонов, born 17 April 1976) is a Belarusian former professional table tennis player. He is known in China as the "Tai Chi Master" because of his superb all-around style, both offensive and defensive.^[6] Samsonov competed at six consecutive Olympics between 1996 and 2016, placing fourth individually in 2016, in addition to equal fifth in 1996 and 2000.^[3]

Samsonov is also known as Mr. ECL (European Champions League), for winning a record 13 ECL titles (including two of its predecessor, European Club Cup of Champions) – three with Borussia (1997, 1998, 2000), and five each with Charleroi (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007) and Fakel Orenburg (2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019). His 13 titles are not only the most ever by an athlete in table tennis, but also more than any male or female athlete has ever won in European Champions Leagues in all sports.^[7] He started playing for European top division clubs in 1994, when he signed with Borussia Düsseldorf, then six years later joined Royal Charleroi in Belgium. In 2008, he moved to Spain to play for SuperDivision club Cajagranada, but left after only one season to join the Russian Premier League club Fakel Orenburg, where he finished his career twelve years later.

Samsonov is famous for being a top-10 player spanning over a decade. He first joined the top-10 in 1996, then climbed to the top position in 1998. He stayed in the top-10 for 15 years until November 2011. His highest ranking was No. 1 in December 1999.^[5] He used to hold the distinction of being the player with most ITTF Pro/World Tour titles (27)^[8] until Ma Long surpassed him (28). He was runner-up in the 1997 World championships, and is also a three-time European champion (1998, 2003, 2005) and three-time World Cup winner (1999, 2001, 2009).

Samsonov was awarded the Richard Bergmann Fair Play Trophy at the world championships a record three times, in 2003, 2007 and 2013.^[9]

In 2021, despite qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, his seventh time qualifying for the Olympics, Samsonov withdrew from the tournament and shortly after announced his retirement.^[10]

Since the age of seven, Samsonov had been coached by Alexandre Petkevich. Samsonov is a polyglot, speaking Russian, English, German, Serbian, and Spanish.^[2]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vladimir Samsonov.

• Vladimir Samsonov at World Table Tennis
• Vladimir Samsonov at Olympedia