Rainer Schmidt (table tennis player)

Rainer Schmidt

Rainer Schmidt during a table tennis game

Rainer Schmidt (born February 18, 1965 in Gaderoth ) is a German administrator , Protestant theologian and table tennis player . From 2005 to 2015 he worked as a lecturer at the Pedagogical-Theological Institute in Bonn. Since 2015 he has been working as a freelance speaker , moderator, advanced training and cabaret artist .

Rainer Schmidt was born with both forearms missing, only a small thumb attachment on the left upper arm. His right leg is also shortened and he has an orthoprosthesis. The reason for this has long been questionable; While an amniotic ligament syndrome was initially suspected, Schmidt now assumes the femur-fibula-ulna syndrome as the cause.

cabaret artist

Rainer Schmidt has been performing as a cabaret artist since 2013. On March 29, 2014, the premiere of his first full-length program "Turn your thumbs" took place.

During the broadcast of the Paralympics 2016 from Rio de Janeiro, Rainer Schmidt was seen five times on ARD with his own cabaret section "Rainer's mouth".

Freelance speaker and moderator

As a freelancer, Rainer Schmidt gives lectures and leads seminars. His topics: leadership and motivation, inclusion in school and society, conflicts and communication.

He has been moderating events since 2010. Examples are the "LVR - Day of Encounters" (2011-2013), the "German House Paralympics" (2010, 2012, 2014) and the "Reception of the Federal President on the 100th Anniversary of the German Sports Badge" (2013) and the DOSB Congress on the topic of inclusion in 2016.

Career as a table tennis player

Schmidt with table tennis bat

Rainer Schmidt's first encounter with sport was during a vacation in Tamsweg, Austria . The guesthouse where his family stayed had no employment other than a ping pong table. His siblings and other children therefore played table tennis every day. Schmidt also tried to play along, but he could not hold the table tennis bat because of his short arms. Most of the time he sat next to the record and watched the others play. Another holiday guest noticed this and came up with the idea to tie the table tennis bat around Rainer Schmidt's arm with foam and cord. With that he could finally play table tennis. The principle of this construction has not changed until today. At the age of twelve he began to play in a table tennis club in his homeland in Oberberg . In 1983 he was accepted into the A youth squad of the German Disabled Sports Association. At the end of the 1990s he joined the 1st TTC Cologne-Stammheim 1970 eV. Today Schmidt plays for Fortuna Bonn.

Schmidt worked full-time as a lecturer at the Pedagogical Theological Institute of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland in the field of integrative community work in Bonn. He is also a freelance speaker and cabaret artist. His current cabaret program is called "Turning Your Thumbs".

Success as a table tennis player

Numerous successes at German championships, including eight gold medals with Thomas Kurfeß

1983 EM in Ingolstadt: participation

1984 Paralympics in New York: Participation

1985 European Championship in the Netherlands: bronze in individual

1986 World Championships in Dijon (France): Gold in individual and team

1987 European Championship in Stoke Mandeville (England): bronze in individual; Gold in the team

1988 Paralympics in Seoul (Korea): silver in individual; Gold in the team

1990 World Championships in Assen (Netherlands): Gold in individual and team

1991 European Championship in Salou (Spain): silver in individual; Gold in the team

1992 Paralympics in Barcelona (Spain): gold in individual; Silver in the team

1995 European Championship in Denmark: silver in the individual, gold in the team

1996 Paralympics in Atlanta: participation

1997 European Championship in Stockholm (Sweden): gold in individual; Gold in the team

1998 World Cup in Paris (France): Gold in the team

1999 European Championship in Piestany (Slovakia): 4th place in the individual, gold in the team

TOP 12 tournament in Belgium: 1st place

2000 Paralympics in Sydney (Australia): Gold in the team; 4th place in individual

2001 EM in Frankfurt aM: Gold in the team; Silver in single

2002 World Cup in Taipei (Taiwan): Gold in the team

2003 European Championship in Zagreb (Croatia): gold in individual; Gold in the team

2004 Paralympics in Athens: silver in the individual and gold in the team

2005 European Championship in Jesolo (Italy): bronze in the individual and silver in the team

2006 World Championships in Montreux (Switzerland): silver in the individual and gold in the team

2007 EM in Kranjska Gora (Slovenia): Gold in the team

Honors

1998 Prize for Tolerance and Fair Play
2004 Paralympics in Athens: Presentation of the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award , which is given to the athlete who has found a positive way of dealing with his handicap through sport at the World Disabled Games.
Sportsman of the year 2003 - in the Rheinisch-Bergisches Kreis
Sportsman of the year 2004 - in the Rheinisch-Bergisches Kreis
"Players' Player 2006" - during the World Cup in Montreux, the nations chose the most impressive player personality
2007 Prize for Tolerance and Fair Play from the Federal Minister of the Interior
2009 Golden Band of the Sports Press
2011 sports plaque from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for outstanding sporting achievements
2011 induction into the Hall of Fame of the ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation)
2014: Mainz knapsack guard

literature

Rainer Schmidt: Better arm off than poor on. What does disabled actually mean here? Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2004, ISBN 978-3-579-06850-3 .
Rainer Schmidt: Winning your life by playing. What makes people strong. Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2008, ISBN 978-3-579-06472-7 .