Spring Break
Table tennis by the numbers
Mike Mazzeo
Issue date: 1/11/08 Section: Sports
Sports are all about numbers - and table tennis is no exception.
With 40 players taking part in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Table Tennis there are going to be a lot of matches. With that comes a lot of (11-9) (11-7) (5-11) (11-6) scores to report.
In order to get your eyes ready to read the scores, make sure to take a look at "Table Tennis by the Numbers."
1: The number of competitors from the "City of Brotherly Love." Representing Philly will be Razvan Cretu. Cretu, who is ranked No. 15, grew up in Romania and became a citizen of the United States in 1991. He will begin play at 10 A.M. Jan. 10 in the preliminary tournament.
2: The number of Olympic Trial events that are taking place in the City of Philadelphia this year. The other event, the U.S. Gymnastics Olympic Team Trials will be held at the Wachovia Center in June. Oh, and on just his second day in office, Mayor Michael Nutter was on hand at the reception ceremony Jan. 9.
2.7: The mass of a table tennis ball in grams.
4: The top four male and female finishers will advance to the North American Qualification Tournament in Vancouver, Canada on April 4 - April6. The top three finishers in that event (two women, Jun Gao and Chen Wang, already qualified after winning the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro leaving one female and three male positions open) will represent North America in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
6: Should No. 1 seeded Ilija Lupulesku get through the fields in Philadelphia and Vancouver, it would be his sixth straight appearance in the Olympic Games (second as a U.S. citizen). Lupulesku is regarded as one of the best players in the sport.
9: The number of women competing in the Trials.
12: The number of states being represented by the athletes at the Trials. They include Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Indiana, California, New York, Ohio, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Texas and Oregon.
31: The number of men competing in the Trials.
69.9: The speed of the ball can reach up to 69.9 miles per hour (or 112.5 kilometers per hour).
173: The record for number of balls hit back and forth in a 60 second period by Jackie Bellinger and Lisa Lomas in 1993.
200: The entry for the players is 200 dollars, which would be refunded to a player if he or she reaches Vancouver.
1926: The year the ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation) is founded.
1988: The year that table tennis became part of the Olympic Games, which held in Seoul.
10,000,000: The number of players that compete in sanctioned tournaments each year.
With 40 players taking part in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Table Tennis there are going to be a lot of matches. With that comes a lot of (11-9) (11-7) (5-11) (11-6) scores to report.
In order to get your eyes ready to read the scores, make sure to take a look at "Table Tennis by the Numbers."
1: The number of competitors from the "City of Brotherly Love." Representing Philly will be Razvan Cretu. Cretu, who is ranked No. 15, grew up in Romania and became a citizen of the United States in 1991. He will begin play at 10 A.M. Jan. 10 in the preliminary tournament.
2: The number of Olympic Trial events that are taking place in the City of Philadelphia this year. The other event, the U.S. Gymnastics Olympic Team Trials will be held at the Wachovia Center in June. Oh, and on just his second day in office, Mayor Michael Nutter was on hand at the reception ceremony Jan. 9.
2.7: The mass of a table tennis ball in grams.
4: The top four male and female finishers will advance to the North American Qualification Tournament in Vancouver, Canada on April 4 - April6. The top three finishers in that event (two women, Jun Gao and Chen Wang, already qualified after winning the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro leaving one female and three male positions open) will represent North America in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
6: Should No. 1 seeded Ilija Lupulesku get through the fields in Philadelphia and Vancouver, it would be his sixth straight appearance in the Olympic Games (second as a U.S. citizen). Lupulesku is regarded as one of the best players in the sport.
9: The number of women competing in the Trials.
12: The number of states being represented by the athletes at the Trials. They include Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Indiana, California, New York, Ohio, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Texas and Oregon.
31: The number of men competing in the Trials.
69.9: The speed of the ball can reach up to 69.9 miles per hour (or 112.5 kilometers per hour).
173: The record for number of balls hit back and forth in a 60 second period by Jackie Bellinger and Lisa Lomas in 1993.
200: The entry for the players is 200 dollars, which would be refunded to a player if he or she reaches Vancouver.
1926: The year the ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation) is founded.
1988: The year that table tennis became part of the Olympic Games, which held in Seoul.
10,000,000: The number of players that compete in sanctioned tournaments each year.
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