Holger Nikelis
Holger Nikelis (born January 15, 1978 in Cologne ) has been a professional wheelchair table tennis player since 1997. At the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, he won gold in the individual competition and bronze in the team competition. Holger Nikelis is currently in 6th place in the world rankings. On December 20, 2016, he announced that he would end his international career.
biography
Before the accident
Holger Nikelis got his first table tennis experience during his primary school years (1984–1988). He joined a club for the first time in 1990. Thanks to the club, he was soon able to compete in his first competitions, which he only played at district and district level, but was also able to collect initial successes there. During a vacation in Spain in 1995, he broke his sixth cervical vertebra on the beach when his head hit the shallow water. As a result, Holger has been paralyzed from the chest down since then. Paraplegia from the 6th cervical vertebra ( tetraplegia ).
After the accident
After the accident, Holger Nikelis initially had to spend five months on the rehabilitation measures. During these measures, he again took up the table tennis bat, as this is viewed as a particularly effective training measure for paraplegics. Despite the setback, Holger was able to finish his school career in 1997 with a good Abitur . In the following winter semester of 1998 he began studying media management at the University of Siegen, which he broke off in order to begin training as an IT specialist specializing in application development in 2000. Holger currently plays table tennis in the Wheelchair Club Cologne eV (RSC Cologne eV). He is trained by his trainer Michael Meißner. Since 2001 he has been part of the German national table tennis team. He has also been a member of the DBS Top Team Paralympics Beijing and the NRW Top Team Beijing since 2008.
Nikelis is one of the founders of Sports for Future , an initiative that promotes climate protection. He commented on the commitment as follows: “Through my accident I learned what it is like to lose something irretrievably. We still have the chance to act on the climate crisis . We should do that - before there is no turning back. "
Sporting successes
Medals
| Competition type | singles | team |
|---|---|---|
| Paralympics | Gold (2012) Gold (2004) |
Silver (2012) Bronze (2004) |
| World Championship | Gold (2010) Gold (2006) Silver (2002) |
Silver (2014) Silver (2006) |
| European Championship | Gold (2009, 2005, 2003, 2001) | Gold (2009, 2007, 2005) Bronze (2003) |
| German championship | Gold (2013, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2005, 2003, 2002, 2001) |
honors and awards
- Felix (sports award from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia)
- Best European Player 2009 (Award from ITTF)
- Bearer of the Silver Bay Leaf (2006)
- Gold Medal of Honor from the City of Cologne for outstanding sporting achievements
- Cologne Sportsman of the Year 2006 and 2011
- IPC athlete of the month February 2005
- Nominated for election as Disabled Athlete of the Year 2004
Other activities and tasks
- Member of the IPC Standing Committee “Athletes with High Support Needs Committee” ²
- Member of the ADSC ( Athletes with a Severe Disability Committee )
- Ambassador of the campaign “Fit in Sport - Fit in Job” 2008
- Visits to schools and associations
- Tournament director of Tetra Open Cologne (TOC)
- Curator of the Foundation for the Promotion of Integration through Mobility (IDM)
- Member of the Sports Association for Organ Donation
- Sponsor for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for the DOSB campaign "europa (s) meister" 2007
- 2005 World Games Ambassador
technology
Holger Nikelis is right-handed. His current blade is the Butterfly Andrzej Grubba All + and he mainly uses the Butterfly Solcion rubber.
literature
- Matthias Ernst: Holger Nikelis - I'd like to be a professional , tischtennis magazine , 2008/7, pages 32–33
Web links
- photos
- World ranking
- www.nikelis.de
- www.europas-meister.de
- www.idm-stiftung.de ( Memento from February 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ ITTF Para Table Tennis Ranking Lists - Men class 1 as of 2016-12-01. In: www.ipttc.org. Retrieved December 20, 2016 .
- ↑ Holger Nikelis | Facebook. In: www.facebook.com. Retrieved December 20, 2016 .
- ↑ Beatriz Rios: "Sports for Future": German athletes raise their voices against climate change. In: Euractiv , 23 September 2019, accessed on 24 September 2019.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Nikelis, Holger |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German wheelchair table tennis player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 15th January 1978 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cologne |