The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Disappearance: Jacques Secrétin, legend of table tennis, went up to make angels laugh

2020-11-26T12:32:47.291Z


The most famous French table tennis player with an incredible record has died at the age of 71. His show with his sidekick Vincent Purkart avai


The angels up there are going to have a good laugh.

They will enjoy discovering the show around a simple ping-pong table between Jacques Secrétin and Vincent Purkart.

The accomplices will bring out their giant rackets, the strokes of genius calculated to the millimeter, their tasty gags.

The two table tennis artists have eternity ahead of them to complete their hilarious show which has toured the planet several times for decades.

Vincent Purkart had been waiting for his accomplice in paradise for five years already.

Jacques Secrétin joined him on the night of November 25 or 26.

The former European champion with the famous mustache died at the age of 71.

Jacques Secrétin was first a huge champion, one of the greatest in French sport of the 1970s, at a time when we were happy to see footballers in green losing a European Cup final.

Few of the French won and Secrétin was one of them: “I think I am the only sportsman to have met all the presidents of the Fifth Republic.

I was received by de Gaulle when I was 13, ”he said with pride.

#FFTT #Hommage


The FFTT is

extremely

sad to announce the disappearance of Jacques Secrétin.


Called for the first time in the France team at the age of 13, this Ping monument was the author of an incredible record: 61 times French champion [more] pic.twitter.com/V6tztNU8kK

- FFTT (@ffttofficiel) November 25, 2020

It would take a complete journal to summarize his incredible track record.

Born on March 18, 1949 in Pas-de-Calais, the Nordiste has accumulated 495 selections and twenty-three years of presence in Blue.

He won 61 (!) French champion titles in all categories, won more than 230 international medals.

In a sport dominated by the Chinese, Secrétin was world number 2 in 1976, the year of his individual European champion title.

He was also world champion in mixed doubles in 1977 with Claude Bergeret.

The feat, at the time, was the opening of the television news: “Our destinies were linked, confesses the one who still officiates at the French Table Tennis Federation (FFTT) as responsible for international relations.

We had known each other for fifty years.

He had lots of plans, was cheerful.

His disappearance is too sudden, brutal.

I'm sad.

"

He was still a favorite of the veteran Worlds in 2020

Jacques Secrétin had officially retired in 1986. Yet he played every day and was even registered to compete in the veteran Worlds, scheduled for Bordeaux last summer.

He dreamed of a last medal in the 70-75 years old.

Only fate was too strong to deprive it of it.

"He would have been so proud of the tributes that we pay him, slips Jean-Philippe Gatien, the only French world champion in singles in 1993. He loved life, he had humor, he was a source of inspiration and I retain from him his passion for his sport and the desire he has always had to democratize it.

"

Even China was under the spell

Beyond this endless track record, Jacques Secrétin was indeed the most beautiful ambassador of a sport confined to specialists.

The Secretin - Purkart show delighted the planet in more than 4,000 performances.

Even China envied us the pranks of this pair of friends.

“It's a slice of life that has been exceptional,” he said.

I played in front of 15,000 spectators.

It was a real promotion for table tennis.

"

Newsletter - Most of the news

Every morning, the news seen by Le Parisien

I'm registering

Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to enable you to receive our news and commercial offers.

Learn more

Those who haven't seen it missed a moment of fun genius around the little white ball.

Everything was written on the line by two prodigies of this game. The accomplices, for example, managed to get the score to 14-18 and Purkart, in all relaxation, launched to his opponent with an imperturbable seriousness: remember nothing?

".

Yes, it reminds us of something ...

Source: leparis

All sports articles on 2020-11-26

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.