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2012 London Olympics: Don’t blink or you’ll miss the speeding objects

At the London Games, a radar gun might be more valuable than a program in enjoying how fast things are traveling.

6. Table tennis smash

Sergei Grits/AP
Michael Maze of Denmark, left, competes against Jun Mizutani of Japan during men's table tennis competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 30, in London.

  • By Ross Atkin Staff

70 m.p.h.

In a fastest smash competition, New Zealander Lark Brandt once turned in the winning effort, clocked at 112.5 kilometers per hour (or roughly 70 m.p.h.).  Whether any player will come close to this in London is hard to say. But little gas-filled balls will be flying at amazing speeds, especially given the small size of the tables, which are only nine feet long. During a fierce rally, a player may move back 15 to 20 from the table’s edge to return high-speed shots.

The sport’s governing body, looking to make it easier for TV viewers to follow the action, actually introduced a slightly larger ball, which is now the official standard, at the 2003 world championships. By enlarging the diameter from 38 millimeters to 40 millimeters (and increasing its weight, commensurately),  the ball’s greater air resistance slowed down the game somewhat. Now there’s consideration for slowing it further by going to a 44-millimeter ball.

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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