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

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor 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 thr ...

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 (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

Beijing 2008 The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

, 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 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, bronzes in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

). Szmal is currently he is the president of the

Polish Handball Association The Polish Handball Association (, ZPRP) is the national handball association in Poland. ZPRP is a member of the European Handball Federation (EHF), the International Handball Federation (IHF) and the Polish Olympic Committee. References Ex ...

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, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

(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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

(24:29). For his sport achievements he received the Gold Cross of Merit 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 came 2nd and

Nikola Karabatić Nikola Karabatić (born 11 April 1984) is a French former professional handball player. He is regarded as one of the greatest players in handball history. With the French national handball team, he won three Olympic gold medals (Summer Olympics ...

came 3rd. On 1 February 2015,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

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

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Personal life

Szmal was born in

Strzelce Opolskie Strzelce Opolskie () is a town in southern Poland with 17,900 inhabitants (2019), situated in the Opole Voivodeship. It is the capital of Strzelce County. Etymology The name of the town is of Polish origin and comes from the old Polish word ''s ...

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

Sporting achievements

State awards

* 2007 Gold Cross of Merit * 2015 POL Polonia Restituta Kawalerski BAR

Knight's Cross of Polonia Restituta

References

External links

Polish Handball Association player profile
1978 births Living people People from Strzelce Opolskie Handball players from Opole Voivodeship Polish male handball players Polish handball coaches Olympic handball players for 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 Polish expatriate handball players in Germany TuS Nettelstedt-Lübbecke players {{Poland-handball-bio-stub