Nico Blok (born 13 July 1981)[1] is a retired Dutch para table tennis player who competed in international level events. He is a Paralympic bronze medalist, three-time World medalist and a double European silver medalist.[2][3]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 13 July 1981 Gouda, Netherlands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 40 kg (88 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Netherlands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Para table tennis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability | Muscular disease | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability class | C6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Personal life
editWhen Blok was born in a hospital in Gouda, South Holland, doctors suspected that there was something wrong with him after he was born, it was later revealed that he was born with an unknown muscular disease. Due to this unknown muscular disease, he was prominently thin as he only weighed 40kg at a height of 1.77m and has also had limited muscle strength and walking long distances were impossible for him.
Blok was very fascinated in sports at a young age: his older brother played soccer and tennis but it was too hard for Nico. His parents tried to find an alternative sport for him to participate in and when he was nine years old, he tried out table tennis and this was how he got his motivation.[4][5]
References
edit- ^ "Athens 2004 Paralympic Games - Table Tennis - Official Results Book". ipc-services.org. International Paralympic Committee. 19 September 2004.
- ^ "Nico Blok - IPTTC Profile". International Para Table Tennis Committee. 27 September 2020.
- ^ "Our Toppers (in Dutch)". Sport Utrecht. 27 September 2020.
- ^ "About Nico (in Dutch)". Nico Blok - Personal Website. 27 September 2020.
- ^ "Nico Blok On His Top Sports: Table Tennis (in Dutch)". Stichting Intermobiel. 1 May 2009.