The 41-year-old won the final of the Class 2 individual table tennis tournament, as he did in Rio.
The two players knew each other well, and for good reason: the final of the Class 2 individual table tennis tournament, this Monday morning in Tokyo, was a remake of that of the Paralympic Games in Rio in 2016. The outcome was the same. The French table tennis player Fabien Lamirault defeated the Polish Rafal Czuper (3-2) and won the gold medal. For his third Games, at 41, Fabien Lamirault won the fifth Paralympic medal of his career, the third individual.
“It’s a big relief because I put a lot of pressure on myself on these Games, breathes Fabien Lamirault. I was keen to win to become the first in my category to keep the title, it had never been done. “
Paraplegic since a car accident in 1997, the native of Longjumeau (Essonne) discovered table tennis in a rehabilitation center. Since then, the titles accumulate and the French could well add a new line to his prize list before his departure from Japan. He is in fact in the running to win team gold, a Paralympic competition in which he is also the defending champion. “There is a sixth medal to go for with, I hope, the same color”, is already planning Fabien Lamirault.
This new medal brings the total of French charms to 27 (including 4 in gold), one less than in Rio and just seven units from the goal of 35 podiums set before the Games. As for the French table tennis team, it alone has a record of seven medals before the start of the team events, including two silver won by Léa Ferney and Matéo Bohéas, plus four bronze.
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