Sławomir Szmal (born 2 October 1978) is a former Polish

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

Poland men's national handball team The Poland men's national handball team is controlled by the Polish Handball Association (''Związek Piłki Ręcznej w Polsce''), and represents Poland in international matches. Honours Competitive record Olympic Games World Champio ...

, 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 ...

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 a medalist in the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

(silver 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 ...

, bronzes 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 ...

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 ...

). Szmal is currently the goalkeeping coach of the Polish national team.

Career

National team

On 19 August 1998 he debuted 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 ...

in a match against

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

(31:20). On 4 February 2007 he won a silver medal at the

, after losing the final match with

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(24:29). For his sport achievements he received the

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 ...

in 2007. He won a bronze medal at the 2009 World Championship. In 2009 Szmal was voted

IHF World Player of the Year The IHF World Player of the Year is a handball award given annually to the player who is considered to have performed the best in the previous season, both at club and international competitions. It is awarded based on votes from experts, media a ...

, while

Igor Vori Igor Vori (born 20 September 1980) is a Croatian retired handball player and current coach. He is currently working as the sports director of the Croatian national team. Vori competed for Croatia in the 2004, 2008 and the 2012 Summer Olympic ...

came 2nd and

Nikola Karabatić Nikola Karabatić (born 11 April 1984) is a French handball player for Paris Saint-Germain and the French national team. With the French national handball team, he has won three Olympic gold medals (Summer Olympics of 2008, 2012 and 2020), four ...

came 3rd. 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 Szmal, won the bronze medal at the 2015 World Championship. They won the bronze medal match (29:28) against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

.''Bronze goes to Poland''
- ihf.info - 01-02-2015

Personal life

Szmal was born in

Strzelce Opolskie Strzelce Opolskie (german: Groß Strehlitz, szl, Wielge Strzelce) is a town in southern Poland with 17,900 inhabitants (2019), situated in the Opole Voivodeship. It is the capital of Strzelce County. Demographics Strzelce Opolskie is one of th ...

. He is married to Aneta, who is a former handball player. They have a son named Filip.

Sporting achievements

State awards

* 2007

* 2015

Knight's Cross of Polonia Restituta

References

External links

Polish Handball Association player profile
1978 births Living people People from Strzelce Opolskie Sportspeople from Opole Voivodeship Polish male handball players Polish handball coaches Olympic handball players of Poland Handball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Handball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Rhein-Neckar Löwen players Handball-Bundesliga players Wisła Płock (handball) players Vive Kielce players Expatriate handball players Polish expatriates in Germany {{Poland-handball-bio-stub