Gilles de la Bourdonnaye (born 27 January 1973) is a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

para table tennis player who competes in international level events. He is a triple Paralympic champion, triple World champion and thirteen time European champion. His right arm was amputated when he was three years old after an elevator accident.

Sporting career

He started competing internationally at the 1990 World Para Table Tennis Championships and retired in the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

. de la Bourdonnaye came out of retirement eleven years later, aged 46, when he participated at the 2019 European Championships in Helsingborg where he won his first medal since 2008 when he won a silver medal in the teams events. He has won team event titles with numerous other competitors including Philippe Roine, Jeremy Rousseau and Matéo Bohéas.

Return to sport

de la Bourdonnaye made his decision to come out of retirement and make a bid to compete in his sixth Paralympic Games by hoping to qualify for the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

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