Sławomir Szmal

Sławomir Szmal
Sławomir Szmal
Personal information
Born	October 2, 1978 (age 45); Strzelce Opolskie, Poland
Nationality	Polish
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Senior clubs
Years	Team
1996–1997	Gwardia Opole
1997–1999	Huntnik Kraków
1999–2002	KS Warszawianka
2002–2003	Wisła Płock
2003–2005	TuS N-Lübbecke
2005–2010	Rhein-Neckar Löwen
2010–2018	Vive Kielce
National team
Years	Team
1998–2018	Poland
Medal record
World Championship

Sławomir Szmal (born 2 October 1978) is a former Polish handball player, who played for Vive Targi Kielce and the Poland 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).

Career

National team

On August 19, 1998 he debuted in the Poland national handball team in a match against Lithuania (31:20). He took part in the European Championship 2002, but Poland took 16th place. One year later the national team, including Szmal, took 10th place at the World Championship 2003. On February 4, 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.

In 2009 Szmal was voted IHF World Player of the Year, the 2nd and 3rd were Igor Vori, and Nikola Karabatić, respectively.^[1]

On January 24, 2014 the Polish national team, including Szmal, took 6th place at the European Championship. On February 1, 2015 Poland, including Szmal, won the bronze medal at the World Championship 2015. They won the bronze medal match (29:28) against Spain.^[2]^[3]