Sam von Einem wins Australian Para Player of the Year Award

Paralympic silver medallist Sam von Einem has caped off his best international season to date, winning Table Tennis Australia’s (TTA’s) Arthur Wilks Award as the 2020 Australian Para Player of the Year.

The title is the highest honour for an Australian Para Table Tennis Athlete and is awarded annually based on performance and results, combined with an athlete’s conduct.

The 25-year-old was presented the award after ending the assessment period with a swag of medals and world class performances.

Highlights for von Einem include the 2019 Slovenian Para Open, where he won bronze in the Class 11 Men’s Team event, claiming two gold medals at the 2019 Japan Para Open in the Class 11 Men’s Singles and Class 11 Men’s Team events, three medals at the 2019 INAS Global Games including gold in the Class 11 Men’s Singles and silver in the Class 11 Men’s Teams and bronze in the INASS II-1 Men’s Doubles, and finally the 2020 Spain Para Open where he took home bronze in the Class 11 Men’s Singles.

This is the third time von Einem has won this prestigious award after previously being a recipient in 2014 and 2016.

“It’s always a huge honour to win a trophy of this nature, and this is my third time winning this award and it’s again it’s a great honour,” von Einem said.

“My standout performance would be the INAS Global Games in Brisbane where I won my first international tournament and first gold medal on Australian soil and to win gold in the event that had so many world class players means a lot.

“This year has been a difficult year with Covid-19 but I’ve used it to get better, bigger and stronger so I can hopefully nail the Paralympic Games in 2021.”

TTA Chief Executive Officer Scott said von Einem’s performances over the assessment period were some of his best yet and those same performances provided the Australian Table Tennis community with much excitement ahead of the Tokyo Paralympic Games.

“Sam is already one of our highest performing Para players and in the last couple of years he’s gone from strength to strength. He’s proved he’s a contender for the top spot in Tokyo next year, and I know the entire Australian Table Tennis community will be behind him when he enters the Tokyo table tennis hall next year.” 

Under normal circumstances the assessment period would have been from immediately after the 2019 National Para Championships, until completion of the 2020 National Para Championships. However, with COVID-19 causing the cancellation of the event this year, TTA and the National Selection Panel determined that presenting the award at the end of 2020 was the most appropriate way forward.