Arkadiusz Gołaś (10 May 1981 – 16 September 2005) was a Polish

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player, member of the

Poland men's national volleyball team The Poland national men's volleyball team is controlled by the Polish Volleyball Federation, which represents the country in international competitions and friendly matches. Poland is one of the world's strongest teams, they are ranked first in ...

in 2001–2005, participant of the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

(

Athens 2004 The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Personal life

He married Agnieszka (née Dziewońska) on July 21, 2005. His best man was another

volleyball player This is a list of top international volleyball players. A * Foluke Akinradewo * Carolina Albuquerque * Todor Aleksiev * Ana Ida Alvares * Thiago Soares Alves * Dante Amaral * Andrea Anastasi * Matt Anderson * Stéphane Antiga * Halina Aszki ...

, his best friend

Krzysztof Ignaczak Krzysztof Ignaczak (born 15 May 1978) is a Polish former professional volleyball player. He was a member of the Poland national team in 1998–2014. A participant at the Olympic Games ( Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012), the 2014 World Ch ...

. On September 16, 2005 Arkadiusz died in

Griffen, Austria Griffen ( sl, Grebinj) is a market town in the district of Völkermarkt in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Geography Griffen lies in the wide ''Jauntal'' valley of the Drava River, between the Klagenfurt basin in the west and the Lavant Valley in ...

near

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

on the A2 motorway when the car he was riding in struck a concrete wall. His wife, Agnieszka, who was driving, survived. They were on their way to

Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564. History The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza ri ...

, where Arkadiusz was due to begin playing his first season at the club Lube Banca Macerata. His last match with the Polish national team was on September 8, 2005, when

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

beat

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

(3-0). His funeral held on September 22, 2005 in

Ostrołęka , image_flag = POL Ostrołęka flag.svg , image_shield = POL Ostrołęka COA.svg , pushpin_map = Poland Masovian Voivodeship#Poland , pushpin_label_position = bottom , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = ...

Sports achievements

Clubs

National championships

* 2000/2001 Silver medal with cup

Polish Championship, with

AZS Częstochowa KS AZS Częstochowa SSA was a Polish professional men's volleyball club based in Częstochowa, founded in 1945 as a university team (AZS). The club competed in the Polish PlusLiga from to 1979 to 2017. Six–time Polish Champion, two–time Pol ...

* 2001/2002 Silver medal with cup

Polish Championship, with

* 2002/2003 Silver medal with cup

Polish Championship, with

* 2003/2004 Bronze medal with cup

Polish Championship, with

National team

* 1999

FIVB U19 World Championship

State awards

* 2006

Gold Cross of Merit The Cross of Merit () is a Polish civil state decoration established on 23 June 1923, to recognize services to the state. History At the time of its establishment in 1923, the Cross of Merit was the highest civilian award in Poland. It was awa ...

(posthumously)

Memory

* After his death, his best friend from the Polish national team -

took over wearing his shirt, bearing number 16, to honor his memory. * The silver medal won by the Polish national team at the World Championship 2006 was dedicated to him. At the medal ceremony, all Polish players were wearing shirts with his surname and number (16). On December 6, 2006, he was posthumously awarded

by the Polish President

Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010. Before his tenure as president, he prev ...

''for outstanding sports achievements''. * A sport hall in

has been named after him. Since 2006, it has been the venue for the annual Memorial of Arkadiusz Gołaś. *

Sebastian Świderski Sebastian Krzysztof Świderski (born 26 June 1977) is a Polish former professional volleyball player and coach. He was a member of the Poland national team from 1996 to 2011, a participant in the Olympic Games (Athens 2004, Beijing 2008), and a ...

, who was a player in Italian club Lube Banca Macerata in 2007–2010 played with Arkadiusz's number 16 on his shirt. * In 2009, the son of

Mariusz Wlazły Mariusz Łukasz Wlazły (born 4 August 1983) is a Polish professional volleyball player. He was a member of the Poland men's national volleyball team, Poland national team from 2005 to 2014. A participant in the Olympic Games 2008 Summer Olympics ...

was named after him. * In 2013–2015, the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

–

Bartosz Kurek Bartosz Kamil Kurek (born 29 August 1988) is a Polish professional volleyball player. He is a member of the Poland national team, a participant in the Olympic Games (London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020), 2018 World Champion, 2009 European Champ ...

has been playing with Gołaś's number 16 on his shirt. * After gaining the title of World Champion 2014,

dedicated his medal to him.''Polscy siatkarze zdobyli złoto! Wlazły: "Dedykuję medal Arkowi Gołasiowi"''
- eostroleka.pl - 22-09-2014

References

External links

* * *
Player profile
at ''LegaVolley.it''
Player profile
at ''PlusLiga.pl''
Player profile
at ''Volleybox.net'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Golas, Arkadiusz 1981 births 2005 deaths Road incident deaths in Austria People from Przasnysz County Sportspeople from Masovian Voivodeship Polish men's volleyball players Olympic volleyball players of Poland Volleyball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Polish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate volleyball players in Italy AZS Częstochowa players Middle blockers