Bartosz Kurek

Bartosz Kurek
Personal information
Full name	Bartosz Kamil Kurek
Nickname	Kuraś
Nationality	Polish
Born	(1988-08-29) 29 August 1988 (age 35) Wałbrzych, Poland
Height	2.05 m (6 ft 9 in)
Weight	105 kg (231 lb)
Spike	370 cm (146 in)
Block	340 cm (134 in)
Volleyball information
Position	Outside hitter / Opposite
Current club	Wolfdogs Nagoya
Number	3
Career
Years Teams 2004–2005 2005–2008 2008–2012 2012–2013 2013–2015 2015–2016 2016–2017 2017–2018 2018 2018–2019 2019–2020 2020–2024 Stal Nysa ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle Skra Bełchatów Dynamo Moscow Volley Lube Asseco Resovia Skra Bełchatów Ziraat Bankası Ankara Stocznia Szczecin Onico Warsaw Vero Volley Monza Wolfdogs Nagoya
National team
2007–   Poland
Honours Men's volleyball Representing   Poland FIVB World Championship 2018 Bulgaria/Italy 2022 Poland/Slovenia FIVB World Cup 2011 Japan 2015 Japan FIVB World League 2012 Sofia 2011 Gdańsk FIVB Nations League 2023 Gdańsk 2021 Rimini 2022 Bologna CEV European Championship 2009 Turkey 2023 Italy/Bulgaria/North Macedonia/Israel 2011 Austria/Czech Republic 2021 Poland/Czechia/Estonia/Finland

Bartosz Kamil Kurek (born 29 August 1988) is a Polish professional volleyball player who plays as an opposite spiker for Wolfdogs Nagoya and the Poland national team. Kurek took part in 3 Olympic Games (London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020), and won the 2018 World Champion and the 2009 European Champion title. In 2019, he became the first ever volleyball player to be voted the Polish Sports Personality of the Year.

On 30 September 2011, during the PGE Skra Bełchatów 3:1 LOTOS Trefl Gdańsk match at Ergo Arena, Gdańsk in the 2011–12 PlusLiga season.

Bartosz Kurek in 2013.

After winning the match at Spodek in Katowice. In the foreground from left: Zbigniew Bartman, Bartosz Kurek, Michał Winiarski and Krzysztof Ignaczak.

Personal life

Bartosz Kurek was born in Wałbrzych, but raised in Nysa. His father, Adam Kurek, was also a volleyball player. Kurek played basketball in his early youth, but later decided to choose volleyball. He has a younger brother – Jakub. Kurek is married to Anna Grejman. ^[1]

Career

Club

Kurek began his career in a team from Nysa (2004–2005), where he played alongside his father. He spent the next 3 years playing for a PlusLiga club, ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle (2005–2008).

In 2008, he moved to PGE Skra Bełchatów, one of the most successful teams in PlusLiga, where he quickly became a key player. With Skra, he won the Polish Championship three times: in 2009, 2010 and 2011. On the international stage, he won two Club World Championship silver medals, in 2009 and 2010, and a bronze medal of the CEV Champions League in 2010. On 18 March 2012, they won a silver medal of the CEV Champions League after losing to Zenit Kazan in the final held in Łódź, Poland. ^[2] Kurek received an individual award for the Best spiker of the tournament.

After the 2011–12 PlusLiga season, Kurek left PGE Skra Bełchatów, and signed a contract with the Russian team, Dynamo Moscow, however, due to injury, he was unable to play for his new team for a large part of the season. ^[3]

After one season in Russia, Kurek moved to Italian club Lube Banca Macerata. In 2014, they won the Italian Championship, beating Sir Safety Perugia in the final. On 15 October 2014, Lube, including Kurek, won the Italian Super Cup, beating Copra Elior Piacenza (3–2). ^[4]

On 4 May 2015, Kurek signed a contract with Asseco Resovia. ^[5] After winning a silver medal of the Polish Championship in 2016, he left Resovia and signed a contract with Japanese club JT Thunders.

On 2 October 2016, he announced suspending his sports career due to physical and mental fatigue. At the same time, he terminated the contract with JT Thunders. ^[6] In September, he moved back to his former club – PGE Skra Bełchatów. ^[7]

In 2018, Kurek joined Polish club Stocznia Szczecin. On 29 November 2018, due to club's financial problems, Kurek terminated his contract with Stocznia. ^[8] On 6 December 2018, he joined ONICO Warszawa after leaving Stocznia Szczecin a few days earlier. ^[9]

National team

Kurek was a part of the Polish national volleyball team which won a gold medal at the 2009 European Championship held in Turkey. On 14 September 2009, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of Polonia Restituta. ^[10] The Order was conferred on the following day by the Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk.

On 10 July 2011, Kurek, alongside his national team, won the Poland's first medal of the World League. They won a bronze medal after defeating Argentina. Kurek received an individual award for the Best scorer of the final tournament. In the same year, Poland took part in the European Championship, where they were the defending champions. Kurek was his team's key player throughout the whole tournament in which the Polish national team won a second medal in 2011 after winning the match for third place against Russia. At the same tournament, Kurek was awarded with his second individual award in 2011, for the Best server of the tournament. ^[11] In November 2011, despite a back injury, Kurek went to Japan to participate at the World Cup, and helped his team win a silver medal and therefore qualify for the Olympic Games.

On 8 July 2012, the Polish team won a gold medal of the World League. Kurek received an award for the Most valuable player. ^[12] Kurek was one of the key players of the Polish team at the Olympic Games (London 2012), but nonetheless Poland lost in the quarterfinal to Russia, and was eliminated from the tournament.

In 2014, he was a member of the Polish national team during the 2015 European Championship qualification. He was not included in the Polish national team for the World Championship held in Poland. ^[13]

After a one year break, he came back to the national team on 28 May 2015 during the first match of intercontinental round of the World League against Russia (3–0). ^[14] He was a top scorer of the match (15 points).

On 30 September 2018, Poland achieved its third title of the World Champion. ^[15] Poland beat Brazil in the final (3–0), and defended the title from 2014. Kurek received an individual award for the Most valuable player of the tournament. ^[16]

Honours

Club

• CEV Champions League
  • 2011–12 – with PGE Skra Bełchatów
• FIVB Club World Championship
  • Doha 2009 – with PGE Skra Bełchatów
  • Doha 2010 – with PGE Skra Bełchatów
• CEV Cup
  • 2017–18 – with Ziraat Bankası Ankara
• Domestic
  • 2008–09 Polish Cup, with PGE Skra Bełchatów
  • 2008–09 Polish Championship, with PGE Skra Bełchatów
  • 2009–10 Polish Championship, with PGE Skra Bełchatów
  • 2010–11 Polish Cup, with PGE Skra Bełchatów
  • 2010–11 Polish Championship, with PGE Skra Bełchatów
  • 2011–12 Polish Cup, with PGE Skra Bełchatów
  • 2013–14 Italian Championship, with Cucine Lube Banca Marche Macerata
  • 2014–15 Italian SuperCup, with Cucine Lube Banca Marche Treia
  • 2021–22 Emperor's Cup, with Wolfdogs Nagoya
  • 2022–23 Japanese Championship, with Wolfdogs Nagoya

Youth national team

• 2005 CEV U19 European Championship

Individual awards

• 2005: CEV U19 European Championship – Best spiker
• 2009: FIVB Club World Championship – Best scorer
• 2011: Polish Cup – Best spiker
• 2011: FIVB World League – Best scorer
• 2011: CEV European Championship – Best server
• 2012: CEV Champions League – Best spiker
• 2012: FIVB World League – Most valuable player
• 2018: FIVB World Championship – Most valuable player
• 2018: CEV – Male volleyball player of the year ^[17]
• 2019: Polish Sports Personality of the Year 2018
• 2021: FIVB Nations League – Most valuable player (shared with Wallace de Souza)
• 2021: FIVB Nations League – Best opposite spiker
• 2021: Emperor's Cup – Most valuable player
• 2022: FIVB World Championship – Best opposite spiker
• 2023: Japan V.League – Most valuable player & Best SIX
• 2023: Kurowashiki tournament – Most valuable player & Best SIX

State awards

• 2009: Knight's Cross of Polonia Restituta
• 2018: Officer's Cross of Polonia Restituta ^[18]

Statistics

• 2015–16 PlusLiga – Best scorer (510 points)
• 2015–16 PlusLiga – Best spiker (430 points)

References

1. "Bartosz Kurek i Anna Grejman już po ślubie! Siatkarz pochwalił się zdjęciem z małżonką". sport.onet.pl (in Polish). 29 August 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
2. "Zenit KAZAN shatters PGE Skra dreams of home glory". CEV . 18 March 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
3. "Bartosz Kurek w Dynamie Moskwa". plusliga.pl (in Polish). 6 May 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
4. "Bartosz Kurek z Superpucharem Włoch!". polsatsport.pl (in Polish). 15 October 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
5. "Megahit stał się faktem. Bartosz Kurek w Asseco Resovii Rzeszów!". sportowefakty.wp.pl (in Polish). 4 May 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
6. "Bartosz Kurek wydał oświadczenie! Polak rozwiązał kontrakt z japońskim klubem". polsatsport.pl (in Polish). 2 October 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
7. "Bartosz Kurek wraca do Bełchatowa. Będzie grać w PGE Skrze". lodz.sport.pl (in Polish). 10 October 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
8. "OFICJALNIE: Bartosz Kurek nie jest zawodnikiem Stoczni Szczecin". przegladsportowy.pl (in Polish). 29 November 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
9. "Bartosz Kurek zawodnikiem ONICO Warszawa". pzps.pl (in Polish). 7 December 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
10. "Reprezentacja siatkarzy odznaczona przez prezydenta". prezydent.pl (in Polish). 15 September 2009. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
11. "Rosja pokonana! Polacy mają medal ME!". przegladsportowy.pl (in Polish). 18 September 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
12. "WL M: Poland beat USA to claim first World League title". worldofvolley.com. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
13. "MŚ siatkarzy 2014: Stephane Antiga powołał kadrę, Bartosz Kurek nie jedzie na mundial". sport.onet.pl (in Polish). 17 August 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
14. "Opening victory for reigning world champions Poland". fivb.com. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
15. "Poland triumph over Brazil to retain world title for four more years". fivb.com. 30 September 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
16. "Kurek MVP mistrzostw świata! Nagrody indywidualne dla Kubiaka, Nowakowskiego i Zatorskiego!". sport.dziennik.pl (in Polish). 30 September 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
17. "The best volleyball player in Europe". pzps.pl. 4 November 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
18. "Odznaczenia dla Mistrzów Świata w Piłce Siatkowej Mężczyzn 2018". prezydent.pl (in Polish). 2 October 2018. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2021.

External links

• Player profile at the European Volleyball Confederation
• Player profile at Olympics.com
• Player profile at Olympedia
• Player profile at LegaVolley.it(in Italian)
• Player profile at PlusLiga.pl(in Polish)
• Player profile at Volleybox.net

Awards
Preceded by Matey Kaziyski	Best Spiker of CEV Champions League 2011/2012	Succeeded by Antonin Rouzier
Preceded by Mariusz Wlazły	Most Valuable Player of FIVB World Championship 2018	Succeeded by Simone Giannelli
Preceded by Matt Anderson	Most Valuable Player of FIVB Nations League 2021 ex aequo Wallace de Souza	Succeeded by Earvin N'Gapeth
Preceded by Matt Anderson	Best Opposite Spiker of FIVB Nations League 2021 ex aequo Wallace de Souza	Succeeded by Jean Patry
Preceded by Matt Anderson	Best Opposite Spiker of FIVB World Championship 2022	Succeeded by TBD