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Future Table Tennis Olympians Head To Greensboro

Shakehand grip of a table tennis racket.
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Wikipedia

The Greensboro Coliseum is hosting the USA Table Tennis Olympic Trials Thursday through Saturday.

USA Table Tennis CEO Gordon Kaye says the trials are designed for intense competition: Instead of one tournament, there will be three one-day single-elimination tournaments starting Thursday.

Kaye says there will be a championship men's event and women's event each night to determine the US team.

"You can't sort of coast through one day and expect to be able to qualify for the team on another day. Each day, the athletes have to bring their best game to the table or they're not gonna be on our Olympic team. They're not gonna be representing our country."

The winners will be the eighth US table tennis team to compete in the Summer Olympics.

Hill Carrow is the chairman of the local organizing committee for Greensboro. He was on the committee that brought the Table Tennis trials to Cary in 2012.

Carrow says the sport has a healthy following in the Triangle and the Triad.

"It's something that is fun for the whole family that will be helping select our country's athletes who we can then cheer as we watch them all on television hopefully at the games in Rio later on this year."

Event organizers say the Coliseum can seat up to 2,500 people.

 

Rebecca Martinez produces podcasts at WUNC. She’s been at the station since 2013, when she produced Morning Edition and reported for newscasts and radio features. Rebecca also serves on WUNC’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accountability (IDEA) Committee.
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