Krzysztof Ignaczak (born 15 May 1978) is a Polish former 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 Sum ...

player. He was a member of the Poland national team in 1998–2014. A participant at 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 vari ...

( Athens 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 ...

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

), the 2014 World Champion, 2012 World League winner, and the 2009 European Champion.

Personal life

Krzysztof Ignaczak was born in

Wałbrzych Wałbrzych (; german: Waldenburg; szl, Wałbrzich; sli, label= Lower Silesian, Walmbrig or ''Walmbrich''; cs, Valbřich or ) is a city located in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in southwestern Poland. From 1975–1998 it was the capital of Wa ...

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 populou ...

. He is married to Iwona. They have two children: a son, Sebastian, and a daughter, Dominika (who was born after the European Championship 2009). His best friend was volleyball player

Arkadiusz Gołaś Arkadiusz Gołaś (10 May 1981 – 16 September 2005) was a Polish volleyball player, member of the Poland men's national volleyball team in 2001–2005, participant of the Olympic Games ( Athens 2004). Personal life He married Agnieszka (née ...

, who died in a tragic car accident in 2005. Since then Ignaczak played with his shirt number – 16. Krzysztof Ignaczak 2010-04-23

Career

Clubs

With BOT Skra Bełchatów he achieved three titles of Polish Champion and won Polish Cup three times. In 2012 after seven-year domination of PGE Skra Bełchatów, he won with

Asseco Resovia Rzeszów Resovia, officially known for sponsorship reasons as Asseco Resovia, is a professional men's volleyball club based in Rzeszów in southeastern Poland, founded in 1937. They compete in the Polish PlusLiga. The club has won seven Polish Champio ...

title of Polish Champion. In next year his team and he replied this success and gained second title of Polish Champions 2013.). In season 2013/2014 won Polish SuperCup 2013 and

, including Ignaczak, lost with PGE Skra Bełchatów in the final of Polish Championship and gained silver medal. On 29 March 2015 his team lost in final of 2014–15 CEV Champions League and achieved silver medal. In April 2015 Ignaczak won third title of Polish Champion with

Asseco Resovia Resovia, officially known for sponsorship reasons as Asseco Resovia, is a professional men's volleyball club based in Rzeszów in southeastern Poland, founded in 1937. They compete in the Polish PlusLiga. The club has won seven PlusLiga, Polish ...

and sixth title in career. On 21 September 2016 Ignaczak ended up his sporting career and announced it on media. Despite previously having announced the end of his sporting career, he decided to sign a contract for the rest of the season with the team IBB Polonia London in the English volleyball league on 10 March 2017. His presence, as current World Champion, at the club serves to promote volleyball in Great Britain and in the world.

National team

Krzysztof was in the Polish squad when the Polish national team won the gold medal at the European Championship 2009. On 14 September 2009 he was awarded the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

. 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 ...

. In 2011 he gained three medals with the Polish team – silver at the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

, bronze at the European Championship and bronze at the World League in Gdańsk,

, where he also won an award for Best Libero. On 8 July 2012 he won a gold medal at the World League 2012 in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

. On 21 September 2014 the Polish national team, including Ignaczak, won the title of World Champion 2014. On 27 October 2014 he received a state award granted by the Polish President

Bronisław Komorowski Bronisław Maria Komorowski (; born 4 June 1952) is a Polish politician and historian who served as President of Poland from 2010 to 2015. Komorowski served as Minister of Defence from 2000 to 2001. As Marshal of the Sejm, Komorowski exercis ...

– Officer's Cross of Polonia Restituta ''for outstanding sports achievements and worldwide promotion of Poland''. After the World Championship, he announced he is retiring from his career in the national team.

Honours

Clubs

CEV Champions League The CEV Champions League is the top official competition for men's volleyball clubs from the whole of Europe. The competition is organised every year by the European Volleyball Confederation. Formula (2018–19 to present) Qualification A tot ...

2014/2015 – with

CEV Cup The CEV Cup is the second tier official competition for men's Volleyball clubs of Europe. The competition takes place every year. Until 2000, it was the CEV Cup Winners' Cup. In 2000 it was renamed CEV Top Teams Cup and in 2007 it was renamed CE ...

2011/2012 – with

* National championships ** 2004/2005 Simple gold cup

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 KPS Skra Bełchatów ** 2004/2005 Gold medal with cup

Polish Championship, with KPS Skra Bełchatów ** 2005/2006 Simple gold cup

, with BOT Skra Bełchatów ** 2005/2006 Gold medal with cup

Polish Championship, with BOT Skra Bełchatów ** 2006/2007 Simple gold cup

, with BOT Skra Bełchatów ** 2006/2007 Gold medal with cup

Polish Championship, with BOT Skra Bełchatów ** 2011/2012 Gold medal with cup

Polish Championship, with

** 2012/2013 Gold medal with cup

Polish Championship, with

** 2013/2014 Simple gold cup

Polish SuperCup The Polish Super Cup (, ) is an annually held match between the champions of the Ekstraklasa and the Polish Cup winners or, if the Ekstraklasa champions also win the Polish Cup, the Cup's runners-up. As of 2021, the Polish Super Cup has been ...

, with

** 2014/2015 Gold medal with cup

Polish Championship, with

** 2016/2017 Simple gold cup

English Cup, with IBB Polonia London ** 2016/2017 Gold medal with cup

English Championship, with IBB Polonia London

Youth national team

* 1996

CEV U20 European Championship * 1997 Gold medal world centered-2

FIVB U21 World Championship

Individual awards

* 2010: Polish Cup – Best Receiver * 2011:

FIVB World League The FIVB Volleyball World League was an annual international men's volleyball competition. Created in 1990, it was the longest and richest of all the international events organized by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB). The wom ...

– Best Libero * 2012:

– Best Receiver * 2012: Polish Cup – Best Defender * 2015:

– Best Defender

State awards

* 2009:

Knight's Cross of Polonia Restituta * 2014: POL Polonia Restituta Oficerski BAR

Officer's Cross of Polonia Restituta''Postanowienie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 23 października 2014 r. o nadaniu orderów i odznaczeń''
– isap.sejm.gov.pl – 23-10-2014

References

External links

*
Player profile
at ''PlusLiga.pl''
Player profile
at ''Volleybox.net'' * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ignaczak, Krzysztof 1978 births Living people People from Wałbrzych Sportspeople from Lower Silesian Voivodeship Polish men's volleyball players Polish Champions of men's volleyball Olympic volleyball players of Poland Volleyball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Volleyball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Volleyball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta Polish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate volleyball players in England AZS Częstochowa players Skra Bełchatów players Resovia (volleyball) players Liberos