Sean O’Neill

Sean O’Neill is an American table tennis player and coach. He began playing table tennis in Virginia at the age of 8 with this father, Patrick, who was a nationally ranked junior player from Toledo, Ohio. O’Neill went on to win every US National Age Championship title. In addition to the age events, O’Neill won the US National Men’s Singles (5 times), Men’s Doubles (5 times), and Mixed Doubles (6 times) Championships.

He was a US National Team member from 1983 to 1995 and participated in 5 World Championships, 4 Pan Am Games (winning 2 Gold, 5 Silver, and 1 Bronze Medal), 3 World Cups – Singles, Doubles, and Team – and 2 Olympic Games, in 1988 and 1992.

Sean played for the Angby Sport Club in Stockholm, Sweden during his early junior career in addition to training in China on numerous occasions. He was named USATT Male Athlete of the Year on five occasions and served on the United State Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Advisory Council as a player representative for the sport of table tennis. Sean was inducted in the George C. Marshall Hall of Fame in 1998 and the USATT Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2014, he was named Director of Communications for USA Table Tennis (USATT).

Upon retiring from full-time play, Sean began a coaching career that has led to work with the top US Paralympic Table Tennis Players.

Every day during the World Fit Walk, US Olympian Sean O’Neill would walk a group of 8-14 kids around the perimeter of the school for up to 30 minutes before class started. On rainy days (which happens in Portland), the kids would play indoor soccer in the gymnasium. All kids, would do additional activities at home and log their sports via the website. All students had their parents get involved as buddies and a few even got their grandparents involved.