Piotr Łukasz Gruszka (born 8 March 1977) is a Polish professional
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 ...
coach and former player. He was a member of the
Poland national team from 1995 to 2011. A participant in 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 ...
(
Atlanta 1996
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
,
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), ...
,
Beijing 2008
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...
), and the
2009 European Champion.
Personal life
Piotr Gruszka was born in
Oświęcim
Oświęcim (; german: Auschwitz ; yi, אָשפּיצין, Oshpitzin) is a city in the Lesser Poland ( pl, Małopolska) province of southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rive ...
, but raised in
Kęty
Kęty is a town in Oświęcim County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland with 18,955 inhabitants (2012).
The town located in Silesian Foothills dates its earliest document from 1277 when Polish prince of Opole Władysław confirmed sale of the ...
. 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
''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...
. 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 Restituta. The Order was conferred on the following day by the Prime Minister of Poland,
Donald Tusk
Donald Franciszek Tusk ( , ; born 22 April 1957) is a Polish politician who was President of the European Council from 2014 to 2019. He served as the 14th Prime Minister of Poland from 2007 to 2014 and was a co-founder and leader of the Civic Pla ...
. With his national team, he won two bronze medals in 2011: of the
2011 World League and
2011 European Championship.
Honours
Clubs
*
CEV Challenge Cup
The CEV Challenge Cup is the third tier official competition for men's volleyball clubs from the whole of Europe.
It started in the 1980–81 season under the name CEV Cup. In 2007 it was renamed CEV Challenge Cup.
History
* CEV Cup (1980– ...
**
2008/2009 – with
Arkas İzmir
* National championships
** 1994/1995
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 ...
** 1996/1997
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 ...
** 1997/1998
Polish Cup, 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 ...
** 2004/2005
Polish Cup
The Polish Cup in football ( pl, Puchar Polski w piłce nożnej ) is an elimination tournament for Polish football clubs, held continuously from 1950, and is the second most important national title in Polish football after the Ekstraklasa title. ...
, with
PGE Skra Bełchatów
** 2004/2005
Polish Championship, with
PGE Skra Bełchatów
** 2006/2007
Polish Cup
The Polish Cup in football ( pl, Puchar Polski w piłce nożnej ) is an elimination tournament for Polish football clubs, held continuously from 1950, and is the second most important national title in Polish football after the Ekstraklasa title. ...
, 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 Restituta
References
External links
*
*
Player profileat ''LegaVolley.it''
Player profileat ''PlusLiga.pl''
*
*
Coach/Player profileat ''Volleybox.net''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gruszka, Piotr
1977 births
Living people
People from Oświęcim
Polish men's volleyball players
Polish volleyball coaches
Volleyball coaches of international teams
Olympic volleyball players of Poland
Volleyball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Volleyball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Volleyball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland)
Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Polish expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Expatriate volleyball players in Italy
Polish expatriate sportspeople in France
Expatriate volleyball players in France
Polish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Expatriate volleyball players in Turkey
BBTS Bielsko-Biała players
AZS Częstochowa players
Skra Bełchatów players
AZS Olsztyn players
Arkas Spor volleyball players
Łuczniczka Bydgoszcz players
Halkbank volleyball players
BBTS Bielsko-Biała coaches
GKS Katowice (volleyball) coaches
Resovia (volleyball) coaches
Outside hitters
Opposite hitters