Petra Sörling - Host City speaker

Petra Sörling

Position: President, International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and IOC Member

President Sörling's distinguished career is rich with remarkable achievements and leadership roles.  

In the realm of table tennis, she achieved a historic milestone in 2021 by becoming ITTF President, making her the first woman to attain this prestigious position. Prior to this, she served as Vice-President of ITTF from 2009 to 2013, before taking on the role of Vice-President Finance from 2013 to 2021. Outside of ITTF, Petra served as the Deputy President and Board Member of the Swedish Table Tennis Association (2003 – 2013), before serving as President of the Swedish TTA (2013-2022).  Furthermore, she held the position of Vice-President of the European Table Tennis Union (2007-2009). These roles underscore her profound commitment to advancing the sport of table tennis. 

Her contributions to the Olympic Movement include participation in the International Olympic Academy (IOA) Young Leader Programme (2002) and her current role as a Member of the IOC Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee (2022-). Beyond table tennis, Sörling contributes her expertise to the Swedish National Olympic Committee (NOC) as a Board Member since 2021. She also serves as an Executive Committee Member of the International Masters Games Association (IMGA) since 2022. In 2023, she added to her portfolio by joining the Board of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Foundation and becoming a Member of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) Council. 

On 17 October 2023, at the 141st International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session held in Mumbai, India, Sörling was elected as a Member of the IOC.