| Michał Kubiak | |||||
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| Personal information | |||||
| Full name | Michał Jarosław Kubiak | ||||
| Nickname | Misiek Kubi | ||||
| Born | (1988-02-23)23 February 1988 (age 37) Wałcz, Poland | ||||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||
| Weight | 87 kg (192 lb) | ||||
| Spike | 347 cm (137 in) | ||||
| Block | 310 cm (122 in) | ||||
| Volleyball information | |||||
| Position | Outside hitter | ||||
| Current club | Shanghai Bright | ||||
| Career | |||||
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| National team | |||||
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Honours | |||||
Michał Jarosław Kubiak (born 23 February 1988) is a Polish professionalvolleyball player who plays as an outside hitter forShanghai Bright. He is a former member of thePoland national team, a participant in theOlympic Games (London 2012,Rio 2016,Tokyo 2020), two–timeWorld Champion (2014,2018), and the2012 World League winner.
Michał Kubiak was born inWałcz,Poland. He has an older brother Błażej, who is also a volleyball player. He is married to Monika. On 23 February 2014 (Kubiak's 26th birthday) their daughter Pola was born. They also have a second child.
Before his career as an indoor volleyball player, Michał Kubiak played beach volleyball withZbigniew Bartman. They won a gold medal at the European U18 Championship in 2004 and a silver medal at the World U18 Championship,[1] also in 2004. Both Kubiak and Bartman gave up playing beach volleyball.
Kubiak made his debut in the Polish volleyball league during the 2005/2006 season, and He played for three Polish clubs before moving to foreign leagues. In the 2008/2009 season, he played for Israeli club Hapoel Kiryat Ata. His career accelerated after good performances in the B squad of the Polish national team. After that he moved to Italian Serie A2Volley Padwa. In the 2010/2011 season, he returned to thePlusLiga, specifically toAZS Politechnika Warszawska, where he played withZbigniew Bartman again. He wanted to leave theWarsaw club in 2011, but the club stated that their contract was still valid and filed a lawsuit.[2] Finally, Kubiak moved toJastrzębski Węgiel. With this club, he won a silver medal in theWorld Club Championship 2011. In 2012/2013 season he won a bronze medal in the Polish Championships. In 2013/2014 the club advanced to the Final Four of theChampions League inAnkara and after defeatingZenit Kazan won the bronze medal.[3][4] His team beatZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle in the last matches in the fight for a medal.Jastrzębski Węgiel, including Kubiak, ended the season with a second bronze in the Polish Championships.[5] In July 2014, a year before his contract was due to end, Kubiak requested an early termination. The club agreed, and Kubiak was able to play for the Turkish clubHalkbank Ankara for the season 2014/2015.[6] Kubiak agreed withJastrzębski Węgiel that after the end of the contract inTurkey, he would return to the Polish club.[7] On 29 March 2015 he won the Turkish Cup with his teamHalkbank Ankara. In the final match, his team beatArkas Izmir 3-0 and Kubiak scored 11 points.[8] After one season in Japan with thePanasonic Panthers, he renewed his contract until the end of the 2018/2019 season.[9]
Michal Kubiak left Panasonic Panthers after 2022/23 season. He spent a total of 7 years with the team. Panasonic Panthers praised him that he not only played at a world-class level but also brought a great attitude towards games and practices that inspired the team.[10]
Kubiak was first selected to represent the Polish national team by coachAndrea Anastasi in 2011. With the Polish team, he won three medals in 2011 - silver at theWorld Cup[11] and two bronzes at theWorld League[12] and theEuropean Championship.[13] He was a gold medalist at theWorld League 2012 inSofia,Bulgaria.[14][15] On 16 August 2014 he was selected to the Polish squad at theWorld Championship held inPoland.[16][17] On 21 September 2014 Poland won the title ofWorld Champion 2014.[18][19][20] On 27 October 2014 he received a state award granted by the Polish PresidentBronisław Komorowski, theGold Cross of Meritfor outstanding sports achievements and worldwide promotion of Poland.[21]
In November 2015 he was nominated forPolish Sports Personality of the Year by thePlebiscite of Przegląd Sportowy.[22] He took 5th place in the list of 2015Polish Sports Personality of the Year.
On 30 September 2018 Poland achieved title of the2018 World Champion.[23] Poland beat Brazil in the final 3-0 and defended the title from 2014. Kubiak received an individual award for the Best Outside Spiker and he was one of the main players in the team.[24]
In 2019, he made a comment against theIranian people that led to his suspension byFIVB for six games. He said referring to the people of Iran: "The Iranians think they are great and the best and we are the worst. But I believe that they are fatal, malicious and damned people. For me, this nation doesn’t exist, even though they proudly call themselvesPersians, not Arabs. Sometimes we have to play with them, but for me, they don’t exist."[1][2]In response, Iran national volleyball team head coach,Igor Kolakovic addressed Kubiak in an instagram post: “Dear Michal Kubiak, you are the great volleyball player, but you have the right to make a mistake. Come to Iran, please, to see how wonderful people live here.” "[3]
Doha 2011 – withJastrzębski Węgiel
Turkish SuperCup, withHalkbank AnkaraTurkish Cup, with Halkbank AnkaraTurkish SuperCup, with Halkbank Ankara
Turkish Championship, with Halkbank Ankara Emperor's Cup, with Panasonic PanthersJapanese Championship, with Panasonic PanthersJapanese Championship, with Panasonic Panthers
CEV U18 European Championship, withZbigniew Bartman FIVB U19 World Championship, with Zbigniew Bartman
| Awards | ||
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| Preceded by | Best Outside Spiker of FIVB Club World Championship 2016 ex aequo  Wilfredo León | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Best Outside Spiker of FIVB Nations League Rimini 2021 (with  Yoandy Leal) | Succeeded by |
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