Hans Wilhelm Gäb

Hans Wilhelm Gäb played table tennis at the 1959 World Championships before becoming an influential figure and sports executive in Germany. One of the best players of his day, Gäb won multiple national titles and played internationally for Germany between 1958 and 1961. He also had a keen interest in motorsport, holding many high-profile roles in the automotive sector, including as the Vice-President of General Motors Europe.

From 1981 to 1994 Gäb served as the President of the German Table Tennis Federation. In 1999 he became a member of the board of the German Sports Aid Foundation before becoming an honorary chair of the board in 2009. Gäb was awarded with the Olympic Order in Silver in 2006 but returned it in 2016 in protest of the IOC’s decision to allow Russia to compete at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics despite the revelations around state-sponsored doping.