Zoran Primorac
Primorac at the 2016 World Team Table Tennis Championships
Personal information
Nationality	Croatia
Born	(1969-05-10) 10 May 1969 (age 54) Zadar, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	80 kg (176 lb)
Table tennis career
Playing style	Shakehand looper
Equipment(s)	Butterfly (Arylate Carbon) Custom blade; Butterfly Tenergy 05 (Red, FH); Butterfly Tenergy 05 (Black, BH)
Highest ranking	2nd place (1998) in ITTF World ranking
Medal record Men's table tennis Representing  Yugoslavia Olympic Games 1988 Seoul Men's doubles World Championships 1987 New Delhi Men's doubles 1991 Chiba Men's team 1987 New Delhi Men's team European Championships 1990 Göteborg Men's doubles 1988 Paris Men's doubles 1986 Praha Men's doubles 1990 Göteborg Men's team Mediterranean Games 1987 Latakia Men's doubles 1987 Latakia Men's singles 1991 Athens Men's doubles 1991 Athens Men's singles Representing  Croatia Table Tennis World Cup 1993 Guangzhou Men's singles 1997 Nimes Men's singles 1994 Taipei Men's singles 1998 Shantou Men's singles 1999 Xiaolan Men's singles 2002 Jinan Men's singles World Championships 1995 Tianjin Men's doubles 1993 Göteborg Men's singles 1999 Eindhoven Men's doubles European Championships 1994 Birmingham Mixed doubles 1994 Birmingham Men's doubles 1998 Eindhoven Men's singles 2000 Bremen Men's singles 2007 Belgrade Men's team 1992 Stuttgart Men's singles 1992 Stuttgart Mixed doubles 1994 Birmingham Men's singles 2002 Zagreb Men's singles 2005 Århus Men's singles Mediterranean Games 1993 Languedoc Men's singles 1993 Languedoc Men's doubles 1997 Bari Men's singles 1997 Bari Men's doubles

Zoran Primorac /ˈzoʊrən ˈpriːməˌræts/ (born 10 May 1969) is a retired male table tennis player from Croatia. He is a two-time winner of the World Cup and one of only three table tennis players to have competed at seven Olympic Games. His highest ITTF world ranking was number 2, in 1998.

Biography

Primorac was born in Zadar and started playing table tennis at the club STK "Bagat" in his home town. As a junior, he won seven medals at European championships. In 1985 he moved to the Zagreb club "Vjesnik", Caja Granada and UMMC Verkhnaya Pyshma. At the 1987 World Championship in New Delhi he won the silver medal together with Ilija Lupulesku,^[1] and repeated the success by winning the silver at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.^[2] Together with Lupulesku he also won the 1990 European Championship in Gothenburg.

Primorac competed for Croatia at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona where he reached last 16 in singles and doubles. He repeated the same at the 1996 Summer Olympics. At the 2004 Summer Olympics he was eliminated in the third round. At 2008 Summer Olympics Primorac lost in the quarter-final of the men's singles event to Jörgen Persson.

Primorac, Belgian Jean-Michel Saive, and Swede Jörgen Persson are the first table tennis players to have competed at seven Olympics, having competed in all Games since the sport was introduced in 1988.

In 1993 he won a bronze medal in Men's singles at World Table Tennis Championships. He won silver medal in 1995 and bronze in 1999 at World Championships in Men's doubles event.^[1]

At the 1998 and 2000 European Championships Primorac won silver medal in men's singles. In 1998 final he lost against Vladimir Samsonov and in 2000 he lost against Peter Karlsson. At the 1992, 1994, 2002 and 2005 European Championship he won the bronze medal in men's singles. At the 2007 European Championship in Belgrade he won the silver medal in the team event with Croatia (with Roko Tošić, Andrej Gaćina and Tan Ruiwu).

At the Mediterranean Games in the men's singles event he won gold medal in 1987, silver in 1993 and 1997 and bronze in 1991. In the men's doubles event he won gold medals in 1987 and 1991, silver in 1993 and bronze in 1997.

He currently uses specially-designed equipment made by Butterfly Table Tennis. He uses the Timo Boll spirit blade, while using Tenergy 05 rubber on both sides of his racket.

In the TV comedy The Office, the character Dwight Schrute names Zoran Primorac as one of his heroes, but pronounces his name incorrectly.

In 2018, Primorac was elected Chair of the ITTF Athletes Commission.^[3]

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Placed	Event
1988	Olympic Games	Seoul	Silver	Men's doubles
1993	World Cup	Guangzhou	Gold	Men's singles
1997	World Cup	Nimes	Gold	Men's singles
1994	World Cup	Taipei	Bronze	Men's singles
1998	World Cup	Shantou	Bronze	Men's singles
1999	World Cup	Xiaolan	Bronze	Men's singles
2002	World Cup	Jinan	Bronze	Men's singles
1987	World Championships	New Delhi	Bronze	Men's team
1987	World Championships	New Delhi	Silver	Men's doubles
1991	World Championships	Chiba	Silver	Men's team
1993	World Championships	Gothenburg	Bronze	Men's singles
1995	World Championships	Tianjin	Silver	Men's doubles
1999	World Championships	Eindhoven	Bronze	Men's doubles
1986	European Championships	Prague	Bronze	Men's doubles
1988	European Championships	Paris	Silver	Men's doubles
1990	European Championships	Gothenburg	Bronze	Men's team
1990	European Championships	Gothenburg	Gold	Men's doubles
1992	European Championships	Stuttgart	Bronze	Men's singles
1992	European Championships	Stuttgart	Bronze	Mixed doubles
1994	European Championships	Birmingham	Bronze	Men's singles
1994	European Championships	Birmingham	Silver	Men's doubles
1994	European Championships	Birmingham	Gold	Mixed doubles
1998	European Championships	Eindhoven	Silver	Men's singles
2000	European Championships	Bremen	Silver	Men's singles
2002	European Championships	Zagreb	Bronze	Men's singles
2005	European Championships	Aarhus	Bronze	Men's singles
2007	European Championships	Belgrade	Silver	Men's team