Tomasz Wojtowicz – Polish volleyball player, golden medallist of the 1974 World Championship and the 1976 Olympic Games, winner of the CEV Champions League Cup, nominated to the US Volleyball Hall of Fame listing top eight volleyball players in the world.

Sporting career

He played for MKS Lublin, AZS Lublin, Avia Świdnik and Legia Warszawa (1968–1990).

Tomasz Wojtowicz’s team won second place in the Junior Championship in Spain (1972) and bronze in the European Championship held in Voorburg in the Netherlands (1973).

Double Polish Champion (in 1982 and 1983) and runner-up (1981) with Legia Warszawa, he also won three bronze medals in the Polish Championship for Avia Świdnik (1976) and Legia Warszawa (1978, 1980). As a club player, he secured the CEV Champions League Cup after eight years in Italy, where he played for several teams, including Santal Parma (1985).

He joined the Polish national team for 325 matches in 1973–1984, winning the World Championship title in Mexico (1974), securing a spot in the final round of the World Championship in Rome in 1978 (8th place) and Buenos Aires in 1982 (6th place), and winning four European Championship silver medals: in Belgrade (1975), Helsinki (1977), Paris (1979) and Berlin (1983, where he was named the best offensive player). He participated three times in the World Cup, coming second in Prague (1973), fourth in Tokyo (1977) and fourth again in Tokyo four years later (1981).

In addition, he took part in the Olympic Games twice − in Montreal (1976, winning the gold medal) and in Moscow (1980, securing fourth place). After the Moscow Olympic Games, he moved to Italy, where for eight years he played for teams from Modena and Parma (securing the CEV Champions League Cup in 1985 with Santal Parma), Ferrara and Città di Castello.

Awards and achievements

Tomasz Wojtowicz was nominated in the prestigious Player of the Century poll organised by FIVB, eventually losing to Karch Kiraly from the US, and in 2002 he became the first Pole to be included in the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in Holyoke.

He received the title of a Distinguished Sports Champion and was awarded the Golden Medal for Outstanding Sporting Performance twice. In 1974/75 and in 1982/83, he was elected the volleyball player of the season in a poll organised by the Przegląd Sportowy daily.

Currently, he also appears as a TV commentator of volleyball.