Jacques Secrétin (; 18 March 1949 – 25 November 2020) was a French international

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

player. He was selected for the French national team at the age of 13 and became one of the most successful table tennis players in French history. In a 26-year career Secrétin was singles champion of France 17 times and European single champion in 1976. He won the gold medal in mixed doubles at the

1977 World Table Tennis Championships The 1977 World Table Tennis Championships were held in Birmingham at the then newly opened National Exhibition Centre, from March 28 to April 7, 1977. Organisation During these Championships, players and officials stayed at the Student Accommodat ...

in Birmingham, England. Outside of competitions he formed a show with Vincent Purkart that demonstrated table tennis tricks and exhibitions, which made more than 4,000 performances. Secrétin remained an active veterans player until his death.

Early life

Jacques Secrétin was born on 18 March 1949 at

Carvin Carvin () is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of France about northeast of Lens, Pas-de-Calais, Lens. History During World War I, from October 1914 to October 1 ...

, in a mining region of northern France. He began playing table tennis at the age of eight and in 1962, at the age of 13, was selected for the French national team. Secrétin, who played left-handed, won his first national singles title in 1966.

Competition career

From 1974 to 1986 Secrétin won several medals in singles, doubles, and team events in the

Table Tennis European Championships The European Table Tennis Championships is an international table tennis competition for the national teams of the member associations of the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU). First held in 1958, the ETTU organised the European Championships ev ...

and five medals at the

World Table Tennis Championships The World Table Tennis Championships are table tennis competitions sanctioned by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). The World Championships have been held since 1926, biennially since 1957. Five individual events, which include men ...

. He won a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in the mixed doubles event with

Claude Bergeret Claude Bergeret (born 19 October 1954) is a female former international table tennis player from France. Table tennis career She started playing table tennis at the age of 10 in Annecy. Her style of play was based on the counterattack. From 197 ...

at the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. In a 26-year career, he was with

Jean-Philippe Gatien Jean-Philippe Gatien (, born 16 October 1968, in Alès, France, is a retired French table tennis player. He competed in four Olympics Games from 1988 to 2000, winning silver in the singles at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and bronze in doubles (wi ...

, one of the most successful table tennis players of France, world champion mixed doubles in 1977 with Claude Bergeret, 3 times bronze medal in men's doubles, quadruple European champion (including a singles in 1976 against the Soviet Anatoly Strokatov in the final and doubles with

Patrick Birocheau Patrick Birocheau (born 23 September 1955) is a French former table tennis player. He won a bronze medal at the 1981 World Championships in doubles, as well as several medals at the European Championships throughout the 1980s. He represented hi ...

), 61 times champion of France (17 times in men's singles, 10 times in men's doubles, mixed doubles 11 times, 6 times with

, and 4 times with Martine Le Bras, 23 times in teams).

Other work

Outside of competitions Secrétin established, with Vincent Purkart, Le Show Secrétin-Purkart. During the show, which was active until 2007, they performed table tennis tricks and exhibition matches. They made more than 4,000 performances and at one time performed in front of 15,000 spectators. Secrétin also visited table tennis clubs and prisons to teach the sport. Secrétin died on 25 November 2020 at the age of 71. At the time of his death he was still active in table tennis and was scheduled to compete in the veterans world championships in spring 2021.

References

External links

Jacques Secretin at Table Tennis Media
{{DEFAULTSORT:Secretin, Jacques 1949 births 2020 deaths French male table tennis players Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite 20th-century French sportsmen

Early life

Competition career

Other work

See also

References

External links