He has reached the age of 58.
But there is no doubt that the pace is right for JO Waldner.
In an exhibition match, he showed that his sense of the ball is still intact – when he humiliated his opponent.
In the discussion about who is Sweden’s greatest athlete of all time, it is impossible to leave JO Waldner out. He was a super talent already in his early teens and the big breakthrough came as a 16-year-old, when he went to the European Championship final in 1982. And then the saga of Waldner continued.
Incredible career
JO Waldner almost single-handedly created total table tennis fever in Sweden and Europe, and during his career he managed to win everything that can be won in the finer rooms of the sport. Waldner could do anything with a ping-pong racket in hand, and his ball sense and creativity saw him all the way to the top, despite huge competition from China.
JO Waldner’s impact made him a cult hero in China, where he is immensely popular to this day. He became known as the one who broke the Great Wall of China, and to this day he is considered one of the sport’s greatest ever. Waldner ended his career definitively in 2016, when he played his last game for Spårvägen, where everything took off many years earlier. But to this day, even though Waldner is approaching 60 years old, the beats are still going strong.
Total playhouse
Given Waldner’s popularity, it is not surprising that he is invited to exhibition matches around the world. Recently, he and Pär Gerell, who made three Olympics for Sweden in table tennis, were invited to Great Britain to shine a little in front of the crowd – and let’s just say that the icon JO Waldner did not disappoint with his enormous control around the table.
Of course, it was an exhibition match and it is possible to question how badly Pär Gerell actually wanted to win the match, but JO Waldner offers some real magic from time to time to the great cheers of the audience. In one sequence, which can be seen below, Waldner just holds the racket completely still and bounces each ball back at a finished Gerell – while keeping the other hand in his pants pocket, and while yawning. Talk about humiliation! You just have to love JO Waldner!
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