Courtesy: Grzegorz Jereczek
33-year old Polish outside hitter Michal Winiarski has announced his retirement from professional volleyball. He ends his career on a 3-season run with PGE Skra Belchatow and a silver medal in the 2016-2017 Polish Championship.
In total, he won 3 Polish League titles, 3 Polish Cup titles, a Polish SuperCup title in 2014, and a 2008 Italian Championship playing with Trentino. He also played with the Polish National Team for a decade from 2004-2014, which culminated in the 2014 World Championship in front of a home crowd.
He was twice in his career named the Best Receiver of the Polish Cup, and once named the Best Server as well. With a diverse skill-set, he also has earned Best Receiver and Best Blocker of the Champions League in 2012 and 2009, respectively, playing with Trentino and in his second of three stints with Belchatow.
In total, he played 7 seasons with the club with which he retired. He announced his decision on April 19th, the first game of the PlusLiga Championship final, and played his last match in the finale on April 23rd. In 2014, he was bestowed Honorary citizenship of Belchatow, an honorary distinction awarded by the local government.
In his final season, Winiarski played in just 46 of his team’s sets in the regular season, recording 121 points (2.6/set). He had 98 kills, 17 blocks, and 6 aces to make up his total scoring lode for the season.
Winiarski had previously retired from National Team competition – on the same day as he captained the squad to the World Championship.
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