Sławomir Szmal

Sławomir Szmal
Personal information
Born	(1978-10-02) 2 October 1978 (age 45) Strzelce Opolskie, Poland
Nationality	Polish
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	PGE Vive Kielce (GK Coach)
Senior clubs
Years	Team
1996–1997	Gwardia Opole
1997–1999	Huntnik Kraków
1999–2002	KS Warszawianka
2002–2003	Wisła Płock
2003–2005	TuS Nettelstedt-Lübbecke
2005–2010	Rhein-Neckar Löwen
2010–2018	Vive Kielce
National team
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998–2016	Poland	298	(3)
Teams managed
2018–	PGE Vive Kielce (GK Coach)
2019–	Poland (GK Coach)
Medal record World Championship 2007 Germany 2009 Croatia 2015 Qatar

Sławomir Szmal (born 2 October 1978) is a former Polish handball player, who played for the Poland men's national handball team, a participant in the Olympic Games Beijing 2008, and a medalist in the World Championship (silver in 2007, bronzes in 2009, 2015). Szmal is currently the goalkeeping coach of the Polish national team.^[1]

Career

National team

On 19 August 1998 he debuted for the national team in a match against Lithuania (31:20). On 4 February 2007 he won a silver medal at the World Championship, after losing the final match with Germany (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, while Igor Vori came 2nd and Nikola Karabatić came 3rd.^[2]

On 1 February 2015 Poland, including Szmal, won the bronze medal at the 2015 World Championship. They won the bronze medal match (29:28) against Spain.^[3][4]

Personal life

Szmal was born in Strzelce Opolskie, Poland. 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 Knight's Cross of Polonia Restituta

References

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