Vladimir Samsonov is one of the most famous table tennis players. At the international level, advocates for Belarus.
Childhood and youth
The future star of table tennis was born in the capital of Belarus in 1976. The child grew incredibly active, and parents decided to give it to one of the sports sections. At that time, the young athlete was only seven years old. The first coach was Alexander Petrovich, who will train him in the future. At ten years old, the boy begins to show his potential. In 1987, he will be included in the cadet team of the Soviet Union and sent as part of it to the continental championship in the capital of Greece. At this tournament, little Volodya will win his first gold medals. Samsonov will perform at the youth and junior level until the age of seventeen, after which the transition to professional sports will take place .
Professional career
In the early nineties, one of the German companies offered the Belarusian athlete a contract, and he agreed. Immediately after the conclusion of the agreement, he leaves to live in Germany and continues to develop as a professional athlete. It was in those years that it became clear that table tennis will become the life work of Vladimir Viktorovich Samsonov.
While in Germany, the young athlete played for German clubs for a long time, and already in 1994 he went to the adult continental championship as part of the national team. Here he will win his first award at the highest level. Two years later, the Belarusian wins the gold of the European Championship in pairs.
1998 also becomes successful: the athlete wins the gold of Europe in doubles and singles. Five years later, he will again win the gold medal at the European Championships in the individual category and for the first time in history will lead the national team of Belarus to victory in the main tournament of the continent. At the age of twenty-nine years, the athlete becomes a three-time winner of the European Championships. Vladimir Samsonov was equally successful both in European tournaments and international. He is one of the few who managed to win the World Cup three times. In addition to everything else, he also has a silver medal of the World Cup.
He is also one of the few athletes who managed to become a participant in the five Olympics. The athlete is also famous for the fact that for fifteen years he has consistently been among the ten most powerful table tennis players in the world. The first hit in the ranking of the best dates back to 1996, and the way out of the top ten - 2011. At the age of thirty-seven, he was back on the list and lasted for almost a year and a half.
At thirty-nine, he took part in a tournament that took place in Qatar and took first place.
Club level performances
Vladimir Viktorovich Samsonov plays excellent table tennis and at the club level. At eighteen, he performed in the German championship. In the period from 1994 to 2000 he was a player of the Dusseldorf Borussia. During this time he managed to win the national championship three times. In 2000 he moved to Belgium and began playing at the Royal Vilett club. He played for the team from Charleroi for eight years and managed to become the five-time national champion. In 2008 he left for Spain, where he signed a contract with a club from Granada. A gaming career on the Iberian Peninsula will last only one year, and no trophies will be won during this time. The following year, Vladimir Samsonov leaves for Russia, to Orenburg, where he plays for the Gazprom Fakel team. In the Russian team, the athlete will win the Champions League three times.
Life outside of sports
Despite the fact that almost all the time is occupied by competitions and training camps, the athlete is an excellent family man. In 2000, he married Natasha Nam. Wife of Vladimir Viktorovich hails from the now defunct Yugoslavia. They have two sons, whose names are Ivan and Victor.
The Samsonov couple live in Spain, namely in Granada. Here they decided to stay after Vladimir signed a contract with the Spanish team.
Little is known about the athlete’s parents, but Vladimir Samsonov is very grateful to them: it was they who opened tennis for him.
Achievements and rewards
On account of the Belarusian a huge number of various awards. Few of the current athletes can compare with him in this regard. Among the tennis player’s greatest achievements are the following:
- thirteen awards of various levels during the youth career;
- six gold medals of continental championships;
- three-time winner of world cups;
- seven victories in the Champions League;
- participation in five Olympic games.
Many are surprised that the athlete is not presented to any state award in the Republic of Belarus. This fact is associated with the fact that he has been playing abroad most of his career, and played only at youth championships at home.
Heritage
Vladimir Samsonov managed to write a book in which he outlined his thorny path to success, and also described some of the secrets of his game. This book is called Table Tennis. Technique with Vladimir Samsonov. " It has become incredibly popular among tennis players of various levels: from amateurs to professionals. In the early days of sales, almost all copies were sold out. Helped in writing the book Radiva Khudets (his friend).
Actually, here he is, the legendary athlete who, at a fairly advanced age, continues to delight fans with his game. It will forever be remembered by fans as one of the best table tennis players.