His first international torunament were the Nordic Championships in Denmark, where Waldner played very successful: In the singles was it gold, while he won in the doubles silver. At the European Championships 1982 for kids and teenagers he won silver and cilmbs from place 90 to 22 in the junior world rankings. In the same year Waldner plaed at the European Championships for adults, too- there he won silver. 1983 was a very successful year for Jan-Ove Waldner: At his first World Cup participation he won silver, at the World Championships, where Jan-Ove Waldner played for the first time, too, he reached the last 16 in the singles. with the team he won silver. In that month (May) he climbs from place 43 to place 38 in the world rankings. With the winning of a silver medal in the singles, a gold medal in the mixed- and team category he made a new record. That he was one of the best players in Europe already to that time showed the Europe-Top-12 tournament- he reached the 9th place. For the European Championships he wasn't participated in that year. 1984 began good for him: At the European Championships he won silver in the doubles, in the singles, team and mixed-category Jan-Ove doesn't played because he had hard problems with his body to that time. In that year he could win the Europe-Top-12, at the World Cup was it the 5th place because he lost to Joo Se-hyuk. At the World Cup in 1985 in Foshan (China) Jan-Ove Waldner lost very surprised against Norways defender Òlaf Lundquist. Because of that, Waldner fell back to place 43. But at the World Championships he reached the 2nd place together with the Swedish team again, in the singles he lost in the Round of 32. At the Europe-Top-12 he reached the 5th place. 1986 Waldner took part in the European Championships, where he won gold in the doubles, in the team was it the same, the Swedish team beat Germany in the final. In the singles he lost surprised in the Round of the last 16. The Europe-Top-12 he won again. In 1987 Jan-Ove reached the 2nd place at the Europe-Top-12 tournament, at the World Championships he succeeded in the big breakthrough: In the final he lost very closed (3:4) to Ma Lin, so he won silver. Because of that strong performance, he climbed from place 43 to place 22 in the world ranking system and overtook the best Swedish player to that time Jörgen Persson. In Macau, at the World Cup he won bronze. In the year 1988 he won gold at the Nordic Championships again, at the Europe-Top-12, too. In that year he climbed to place 13. He also reached bronze at the European Championships, in the doubles was it silver and in the team- tournament gold.He also took part in the first Olympic Games in the Table tennis history but he doesn't got a medal, not in the team and not in the singles or doubles. 1989 the breakthrough for the Swedish team, and (of course) for Jan-Ove Waldner: The Swedish team won gold at the World Team Table Tennis Championships because they beat China in the final. At the European Championships he doesn't played because the event does not given in that year. At the Europe-Top- 12 he won for the 3rd time gold. But at the World Cup he already lost in the 1st round. 1990 he reached the 1st place with the team at the World Team Cup, at the World Doubles Cup, he lost in the Quarterfinal together with Jörgen Persson. At the World Cup he won gold. The European Championships were not so good for Waldner: In the singles and doubles he lost in the Quarterfinal, with the team he won gold. 1991 he won silver at the Europe-Top-12 (it was Waldners 12th participation). At the WTTC he won silver in the singles. Because of that performance he climbed to place 3 in the world rankings. At the World Cup Jan won bronze. 1992 he qualificated sporting for the Olympics in Barcelona (Espania), where he won gold. This was Waldners best year in his Table tennis career, because he was the third man in the history he won the Grand Slam (World Cup, Olympic Games and World Championships). He won the World Cup (1990), the Olympic Games (1992) and the World Championships (1987, 1989). But at the European Championships he lost in the singles against Jörgen Persson. In that year he was on place one in the world rankigs. From 1993- 1996 he had very hard problems with his body and was qualificated from the ITTF, but played in 2000. At the Olympic Games he won silver in the singles. He was the 1st player to (2016) who won two single medals at two Olympic Games. 2001 he reached the 9th-12th place at the World Cup, at the WTTC he got a place from 9-12, at the Pro Tour Grand Finals, too. 2002 he won silver at the Pro Tour at the Kore Open in Pyeongchang.2002 he took part in some Pro Tour tournaments and won gold with the team at European Championships, in the singles he reached the Round of the last 16. In 2003 Jan-Ove lost very surprised in the Round of 128 against the South Korean defender Joo Se-hyuk at the WTTC, on the Pro Tour he won the Swedish Open. 2004 Jan-Ove tokk part in the Olympics for the 4th time, in that year he lost against Ma Lin in the 3rd place match, the Swedish team came to the Quarterfinals. He also reached the Quarterfinal at the World Cup, at the WTTC he won bronze with the team. In that year Waldner opened a reastaurant with name "W". 2005 he took part in his lat WTTC because he would like to end his Table tennis career, so at his last participation he reache din all categories the Quarterfinal. At the World Tour Grand Finals 2006 he won gold. After that Jan-Ove Waldner ends his career international, but he played national to 2016 and ends than in all things.
Kiminori Matsuyama
Born on November 19, 1957, Matsuyama grew up in Bunkyō-ku, Tokyo. After graduating from Seishi Elementary School, and then from , he enrolled in Science Division-I of the University of Tokyo, in 1976. Among those in his class in the Division was Makoto Gonokami (physicist and current president of the University of Tokyo). Matsuyama later switched to International Relations. Among those in his class there were Toyohisa Kozuki (current ambassador to Russia), (current ambassador to Singapore, former ambassador to the United Nations and Sweden) and former LDP Diet member . It was through his studies in international relations that he came across economics for the first time. Although he passed the advanced-level of the Japanese government in his senior year, he chose to continue his studies in economics.
After receiving his in International Relations in 1980, he enrolled in the program at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Economics, where he studied with Ryūtarō Komiya, , , and Tsuneo Ishikawa, as well as, briefly, with Motoshige Itō,[4] , and Kiyohiko Nishimura.
From October 1982, he also worked as a research assistant for economist Masahiro Okuno, who was then a at the Bank of Japan’s Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies.[5]
Matsuyama enrolled in Harvard University’s doctorate program in September 1983, where he studied under Jeffrey Sachs, , and . Classmates included , Abhijit Banerjee (2019 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences), , , and Alan Krueger. He received a PhD in economics from Harvard in 1987.
Matsuyama became an assistant professor of economics at Northwestern University in September 1987, associate professor in September 1991, and professor in September 1995. He spent 1991 at the of Stanford University as a National Fellow. He received the Nakahara Prize from the Japanese Economic Association in 1996 and became a Fellow of the Econometric Society in 1999. In addition to teaching at the University of Chicago as a visiting professor in 1993 and at MIT in 2008,[6] he has visited many universities and research institutes around the world and has been invited to deliver plenary lectures and keynote speeches at various international conferences.