Arkadiusz Gołaś
Personal information
Nationality	Polish
Born	(1981-05-10)10 May 1981 Przasnysz, Poland
Died	16 September 2005(2005-09-16) (aged 24) Griffen, Austria
Hometown	Ostrołęka, Poland
Height	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
Volleyball information
Position	Middle blocker
Career
Years Teams 2000–2004 2004–2005 2005 AZS Częstochowa Edilbasso&Partners Padova Volley Lube
National team
2001–2005  Poland (141)

Arkadiusz Gołaś (10 May 1981 – 16 September 2005) was a Polish volleyball player, member of the Poland men's national volleyball team in 2001–2005, participant of the Olympic Games (Athens 2004).

Personal life

He married Agnieszka (née Dziewońska) on July 21, 2005.^[1] His best man was another volleyball player, his best friend Krzysztof Ignaczak. On September 16, 2005 Arkadiusz died in Griffen, Austria near Klagenfurt in Austria on the A2 motorway^[2] when the car he was riding in struck a concrete wall. His wife, Agnieszka, who was driving, survived. They were on their way to Macerata, where Arkadiusz was due to begin playing his first season at the club Lube Banca Macerata. His last match with the Polish national team was on September 8, 2005, when Poland beat Portugal (3-0). His funeral held on September 22, 2005 in Ostrołęka.

The grave of Arkadiusz Gołaś in the cemetery in Ostrołęka.

Sports achievements

Memory

• After his death, his best friend from the Polish national team - Krzysztof Ignaczak took over wearing his shirt, bearing number 16, to honor his memory.
• The silver medal won by the Polish national team at the World Championship 2006 was dedicated to him. At the medal ceremony, all Polish players were wearing shirts with his surname and number (16). On December 6, 2006, he was posthumously awarded Gold Cross of Merit by the Polish President Lech Kaczyński for outstanding sports achievements.^[3]
• A sport hall in Ostrołęka has been named after him. Since 2006, it has been the venue for the annual Memorial of Arkadiusz Gołaś.^[4]
• Sebastian Świderski, who was a player in Italian club Lube Banca Macerata in 2007–2010 played with Arkadiusz's number 16 on his shirt.
• In 2009, the son of Mariusz Wlazły was named after him.
• In 2013–2015, the Polish volleyball player – Bartosz Kurek has been playing with Gołaś's number 16 on his shirt.
• After gaining the title of World Champion 2014, Mariusz Wlazły dedicated his medal to him.^[5]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arkadiusz Gołaś.

• Player profile at the European Volleyball Confederation
• Player profile at Olympics.com
• Player profile at Olympedia
• Player profile at LegaVolley.it (in Italian)
• Player profile at PlusLiga.pl (in Polish)
• Player profile at Volleybox.net