Piotr Gruszka
Piotr Łukasz Gruszka (born 8 March 1977) is a former Polish volleyball player, member of the Poland men's national volleyball team in 1995–2011, participant of the Olympic Games (Atlanta 1996, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008), 2009 European Champion, silver medalist of the 2006 World Championship, bronze medalist of the 2011 World League and 2011 European Championship, five–time Polish Champion (1995, 1997, 2005, 2007, 2008), volleyball coach.
Piotr Gruszka | |||||||
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Personal information | |||||||
Full name | Piotr Łukasz Gruszka | ||||||
Nickname | Grucha | ||||||
Nationality | ![]() | ||||||
Born | Oświęcim, Poland | 8 March 1977||||||
Hometown | Kęty, Poland | ||||||
Height | 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) | ||||||
Coaching information | |||||||
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Volleyball information | |||||||
Position | Opposite | ||||||
Career | |||||||
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National team | |||||||
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Honours
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Personal life
Piotr Gruszka was born in Oświęcim, but raised in Kęty, Poland. He is married to Aleksandra (née Szettel). They have two children: daughter Maria Aleksandra (born August 26, 2005) and son named Julian (born March 1, 2010).
In 2014 he took part in 14th season of Polish version of Dancing with the Stars. His pro dancer was Nina Tyrka. They were eliminated as 8th couple and took 5th place.

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Career
National team
Piotr Gruszka was member of the national Polish team that won silver medal of World Championship 2006. Gruszka won gold medal of European Championship 2009,[1] where he was Most Valuable Player. On September 14, 2009 he was awarded Knight's Cross of Polonia Restituta.[2] The Order was conferred on the following day by the Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk. He won with Polish team two bronze medals in 2011 at World League[3] and European Championship.[4]
Sporting achievements
Clubs
- National championships
- 1994/1995
Polish Championship, with AZS Częstochowa
- 1996/1997
Polish Championship, with AZS Częstochowa
- 1997/1998
Polish Cup, with AZS Częstochowa
- 2004/2005
Polish Cup, with PGE Skra Bełchatów
- 2004/2005
Polish Championship, with PGE Skra Bełchatów
- 2006/2007
Polish Cup, 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
- 1994/1995
Youth national team
Individual awards
- 2003: CEV European Championship – Best Spiker
- 2005: Best Player in PlusLiga
- 2006: Polish Championship – Best Receiver
- 2009: CEV European Championship – Most Valuable Player
State awards
External links
- Player profile at CEV.eu
- Player profile at WorldofVolley.com
- Player profile at PlusLiga.pl
- Player profile at LegaVolley.it
- Coach profile at CEV.eu
- Coach/Player Profile at Volleybox.net
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Piotr Gruszka. |
Sporting positions | ||
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Preceded by![]() |
Poland captain 2004 – June 2009 September 2009 June 2010 October 2010 – November 2011 |
Succeeded by![]() |
Preceded by![]() |
Coach assistant of Poland 2017 ex-aequo Oskar Kaczmarczyk |
Succeeded by![]() ![]() |
Awards | ||
Preceded by![]() |
Best Spiker of CEV European Championship 2003 |
Succeeded by![]() |
Preceded by![]() |
Most Valuable Player of CEV European Championship 2009 |
Succeeded by![]() |
References
- 2009 CEV European Championships Results – cev.eu – 03-09-2009
- Reprezentacja siatkarzy odznaczona przez prezydenta – prezydent.pl – 15-09-2009
- 2011 FIVB Volleyball World League Final Report – fivb.org – 10-07-2011
- Bartosz Kurek is the man of the day as Poland strikes bronze at EuroVolley – cev.eu – 18-09-2011