Karol Bielecki (born 23 January 1982) is a Polish former

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

player who played for the Polish national team.

Career

He played for the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

, winning a silver medal in the World Handball Championship in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

and a bronze in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. He announced his retirement from the national team on 13 April 2012, following the unsuccessful Olympic campaign of Poland. On 11 June 2010, Bielecki received severe eye injury during a friendly match against

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. After additional tests and eye surgeries, it was determined that his left eye will remain blind. Although he first said that his years as a player were over, he decided to continue his career. He then played in special

goggles Goggles, or safety glasses, are forms of protective eyewear that usually enclose or protect the area surrounding the eye in order to prevent particulates, water or chemicals from striking the eyes. They are used in chemistry laboratories and ...

and had scored 11 goals in his

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

debut after the injury. On 1 February 2015,

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 ...

, including Bielecki, won the bronze medal of the 2015 World Championship. He participated at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, where he was the topscorer in the men's handball tournament. On 20 May 2018, he announced his retirement as a player.Karol Bielecki kończny kariere

Achievements

;PGE Vive Kielce *

Polish Superliga The Polish Superliga, also known as the PGNiG Superliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's handball league in Poland. The current champion is Vive Kielce, the most titled Polish handball club, maintaining its position at the top of the tab ...

: 2002–03, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 *Cup of Poland: 2009 *

EHF Champions League The Men's EHF Champions League is the most important club handball competition for men's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. The competition is organised every year by EHF. The official name for the me ...

: 2015–16 Vive Kielce *

EHF Cup The EHF European League is an annual men's handball club competition organised by the European Handball Federation (EHF) since 1981. It is the second-tier competition of European club handball, ranking only below the EHF Champions League. Previ ...

: 2006–07 ;SC Magdeburg *

: 2006–07 ;Individual *Topscorer of the men's handball tournament at the

(55 goals)

State awards

* 2007

Gold Cross of Merit * 2015 POL Polonia Restituta Kawalerski BAR

Knight's Cross of Polonia Restituta

References

External links

Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bielecki, Karol 1982 births Living people People from Sandomierz Sportspeople from Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship Polish male handball players Handball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Handball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic handball players for Poland Expatriate handball players Polish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Rhein-Neckar Löwen players Handball-Bundesliga players Vive Kielce players Sportspeople with a vision impairment