17/03/2015 14:02
Wlazly and Winiarski top charts of prestigious poll before contesting CL Finals
2015 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League - Men
Lodz, Poland, March 17, 2015. Poland’s and PGE Skra’s icon Mariusz Wlazly took another prestigious individual award topping the charts in the final standing of the poll for the best sportsman in Lodzkie Voivodeship. The opposite player of PGE Skra BELCHATOW was not the only representative of his team to claim the top honours since his mentor Miguel Angel Falasca was voted Coach of the Year whilst teammate Michal Winiarski finished in second place.
Wlazly and Winiarski steered PGE Skra to yet another title in Poland’s national league last year and were also the players whose contribution was instrumental to Poland’s home success at last year’s FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship. As for Falasca, he got his first award of that kind after being at the helm of Skra in last year’s winning campaign in the national league and after helping his team make the Final Four of the 2015 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League which is due to take place on March 28-29 at the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin.
It was Wlazly’s fifth triumph in this poll which makes him the most successful sportsperson since this contest was first introduced 44 years ago. The team captain of PGE Skra and Poland’s national team, Michal Winiarski, finished second thereby leaving behind speed skater Zbigniew Brodka, an Olympic gold medallist from Sochi 2014, and Adam Kszczot, a middle distance runner who last year was crowned European champion in Zurich. Rugby players, speedway riders and girls playing for the elite Volleyball team of Budowlani LODZ, also finished well behind the stellar duo of Skra.
“I feel proud and happy that I can bring all the fans such emotions and so much joy. This award is very important for me, as I am not only playing for a team from this region but I was born in this neighbourhood as well,” states Wlazly who originally hails from the city of Wielun.
“I was born in Bydgoszcz, however I feel very connected with Lodzkie as I have been living here for many years and my children attend schools here. It is really a great feeling to know how important we are not only for the people in Belchatow but for the entire region as well,” Winiarski adds.
“We often play in Lodz and we love our fans. It is good to know that they appreciate us so much,” said Miguel Angel Falasca, who after spending many years playing for Skra took over the reins of the team as their coach straight after retiring from competitive sport.
The ‘Lodzkie Sportsman of the Year’ poll was organised for the 44th time by the daily newspaper ‘Dziennik Lodzki’. Their gala has always been one of the most important and prestigious events in Lodz, Poland’s third-largest city.
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