Ian Kent (born July 4, 1961) is a Canadian para table tennis player. He is a double singles champion in the Para Pan-American Para Table Tennis Championships and has won seven medals in Parapan American Games.

Biography

Kent was born in Welling in London then he moved to Canada with his parents as a young child, his mother is a former British track and field athlete. He holds a bachelor of science degree in mathematics and psychology from Saint Mary's University. He has three sons, Isaac, Tyler and Matthew and two of them are one of Nova Scotia's top ranked table tennis players while Ian is still top ranked. In 1999, Kent was aged 38, was diagnosed with

dystonia Dystonia is a neurological hyperkinetic movement disorder in which sustained or repetitive muscle contractions result in twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal fixed postures. The movements may resemble a tremor. Dystonia is often inten ...

and was bedridden for two years.

Sporting career

Kent first started playing competitively in 2004 when he played in the EuroChamp Table Tennis Tournament in

Emmen, Netherlands Emmen () is a municipality and town of the province of Drenthe in the northeastern Netherlands. History A planned city, Emmen arose from several small farming and peat-harvesting communities which have dotted the province of Drenthe since the ...

. He only started winning medals in 2005 at the Para Pan-American Championships in

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a s ...

where he won a silver medal in the singles tournament and a bronze medal in the teams tournament with

Martin Pelletier Martin Pelletier (born April 1, 1967) is a former Canadian para table tennis player who has competed in five Parapan American Games. He was a teammate of Ian Kent who has also won multiple medals. In July 1992, Pelletier was involved in a se ...

. He has competed 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 ...

and also

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

but did not advance to the final rounds in both tournaments.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, Ian 1961 births Living people Canadian people of English descent Canadian male table tennis players Paralympic table tennis players for Canada Table tennis players at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Table tennis players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Parapan American Games competitors for Canada Medalists at the 2007 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Parapan American Games Parapan American Games gold medalists for Canada Parapan American Games silver medalists for Canada Parapan American Games bronze medalists for Canada People with dystonia