Piotr Gruszka
Piotr Łukasz Gruszka (born 8 March 1977) is a Polish volleyball coach and former volleyball player, member of the Poland men's national volleyball team in 1995–2011, participant at the Olympic Games (Atlanta 1996, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008), 2009 European Champion, five–time Polish Champion.
Contents
- 1 Personal life
- 2 Career
- 2.1 National team
- 3 Sporting achievements
- 3.1 Clubs
- 3.2 Youth national team
- 3.3 Individual awards
- 3.4 State awards
- 4 References
- 5 External links
Personal life
Piotr Gruszka was born in Oświęcim, but raised in Kęty. He is married to Aleksandra (née Szettel). They have two children: daughter Maria Aleksandra (born 26 August 2005) and son named Julian (born 1 March 2010).
In 2014, he took part in the 14th season of Polish version of Dancing with the Stars. His pro dancer was Nina Tyrka. They were eliminated as 8th couple and took 5th place.
Career
National team
Piotr Gruszka was a member of the Polish national team that won a silver medal at the 2006 World Championship. In 2009, Gruszka won a gold medal of the European Championship, where he was named the Most Valuable Player. On 14 September 2009, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of Polonia Res*uta. The Order was conferred on the following day by the Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk. With his national team, he won two bronze medals in 2011: of the 2011 World League and 2011 European Championship.
Sporting achievements
Clubs
- CEV Challenge Cup
- 2008/2009 – with Arkas İzmir
- National championships
- 1994/1995 Polish Championship, with AZS Częstochowa
- 1996/1997 Polish Championship, with AZS Częstochowa
- 1997/1998 Polish Cup, with AZS Częstochowa
- 2004/2005 Polish Cup, with PGE Skra Bełchatów
- 2004/2005 Polish Championship, with PGE Skra Bełchatów
- 2006/2007 Polish Cup, with PGE Skra Bełchatów
- 2006/2007 Polish Championship, with PGE Skra Bełchatów
- 2007/2008 Polish Championship, with PGE Skra Bełchatów
- 2008/2009 Turkish Cup, with Arkas İzmir
Youth national team
- 1996 CEV U20 European Championship
- 1997 FIVB U21 World Championship
Individual awards
- 2003: CEV European Championship – Best Spiker
- 2009: CEV European Championship – Most Valuable Player
State awards
- 2006: Gold Cross of Merit
- 2009: Knight's Cross of Polonia Res*uta
References
External links
- Player profile at the European Volleyball Confederation
- Player profile at Olympedia
- Player profile at LegaVolley.it (in Italian)
- Player profile at PlusLiga.pl (in Polish)
- Player profile at the International Olympic Committee
- Coach/Player profile at Volleybox.net