Tomasz Wójtowicz

Tomasz Wójtowicz was one of the greatest volleyball players from Poland and was part of the golden era of Polish volleyball during the mid-1970s. Wójtowicz played for the Polish junior team when he was 18, winning the European Junior Vice-Champions in 1972 and the bronze medal at the 1973 European Championships. Wójtowicz’s club career began in 1968 with AZS Lublin. With Legia Warsaw Wójtowicz became a two-time Polish champion, winning the title in 1982 and 1983.

At an international level Wójtowicz played a total of 325 matches for the Polish team from 1973 to 1984. With the national team he won the World Championship in 1974 and four silver medals at the European Championships from 1975 to 1983. Wójtowicz also played in three World Cups, finishing in second place in 1973. In 1976 Wójtowicz was part of the Polish team that won the gold medal at the 1976 Montréal Olympics, beating the Soviet Union in the final. Four years later at the 1980 Moskva Olympics, Poland failed to defend their title and finished in fourth place.

After the Olympics Wójtowicz played volleyball in Italy for eight years before returning to Poland. In 2001 the International Volleyball Federation named Wójtowicz as one of the top eight volleyball players in the world. The following year he became the first Polish player to be inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame in the United States.