Matti Launonen
Matti Launonen (31 May 1944[2] – 23 March 2019) was a Finnish para table tennis player who competed until his sudden death in 2019. He was one of the first table tennis players to win a world title in the para table tennis championships in Assen, Netherlands and a European title in Salou, Spain.[3]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 31 May 1944 Kuopio, Finland[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 23 March 2019 (aged 74) Atlantis, Florida, United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | Florida, United States[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Country |  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Para table tennis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability | Spinal cord injury | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability class | C1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Launonen was seriously injured aged 18 in a car accident while travelling at more than 80 km/h, the car he was driving had handbrake fault and he couldn't stop the car: the car suddenly turned and rolled around.
He had a fall at his home and suffered a leg injury but died at hospital aged 74 in Florida.[4]
References
- "Merkittäviä pelaajia" (in Finnish). Kuopio Table Tennis Club. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- Heikkinen, Esko (24 March 2019). "Matti Launonen on kuollut" (in Finnish). Finnish Table Tennis Association. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- "IPTTC Profile - Matti Launonen". International Para Table Tennis Federation. 28 March 2019.
- "Matti Launonen, a true great of para sport, passes away". ittf.com. 27 March 2019.
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