Tomasz Fornal

Tomasz Fornal (Polish pronunciation: ; born 31 August 1997) is a Polish professional volleyball player who plays as an outside hitter for Ziraat Bankası Ankara and the Poland national team. Fornal won silver medals at the 2024 Summer Olympics and the 2022 World Championship, as well as the 2021 Polish Champion title with Jastrzębski Węgiel.

Career
Junior career
He started playing volleyball at the 22 UKS (Students' Sport Club) run by the Elementary School No. 155 in Kraków. He then represented Hutnik Dobry Wynik volleyball club while attending Junior High School No. 46 in Kraków. He subsequently entered the youth squad of PGE Skra Bełchatów and won bronze medal at the Polish Junior Championships with the team.

Senior career
In 2016, he made his debut in PlusLiga, Poland's highest level professional volleyball league, by joining Czarni Radom. In 2019, he changed the club and joined Jastrzębski Węgiel with which he won the 2020–21 PlusLiga title. and the 2022 Polish SuperCup. In 2023, he won silver medal with Jastrzębski Węgiel in the 2022–23 CEV Champions League, losing to ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle in the first ever all-Polish Champions League final.

National team
On 12 April 2015, the Poland, including Fornal, won the U19 European Champions title. They beat Italy in the final (3–1). He took part in the 2015 European Youth Olympic Festival, and on 1 August 2015 won the tournament after beating Bulgaria in the final (3–0). On 23 August 2015, Poland won their first title of the U19 World Champions. In the final his team beat hosts – Argentina (3–2).

On 10 September 2016, he won the U20 European Champion title after winning 7 of 7 matches at the tournament, and beating Ukraine in the final (3–1). On 2 July 2017, Poland, including Fornal, won the U21 World Champions title after beating Cuba in the final (3–0). His national team won 47 matches in the row and never lost.

In 2022, he won a bronze medal with the national team at the 2022 Nations League held in Bologna, Italy. The same year, he won a silver medal at the 2022 World Championship jointly held in Poland and Slovenia, losing in the final to Italy (1–3).

In July 2023, he won a gold medal with his national team at the 2023 Nations League, defeating United States 3–1 in the final. In September 2023, he won a gold medal at the 2023 European Championship, defeating the reigning World Champions Italy in the final (3–0).

In August 2024, he won the silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

Personal life
His father, Marek, is a former volleyball player, a two–time Polish Champion (1988, 1989) with Hutnik Nowa Huta while his mother, Dorota, is a PE teacher. He has an older brother, Jan.

In 2024, he was involved in the 32nd edition of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. The winner of the charity auction was given an opportunity to go to Jastrzębie-Zdrój and take part in a training session with his team as well as go for a dinner with the player.

Honours
Club
 CEV Champions League
 16px 2022–23 – with Jastrzębski Węgiel
 16px 2023–24 – with Jastrzębski Węgiel
 Domestic
 2020–21 16px Polish Championship, with Jastrzębski Węgiel
 2021–22 16px Polish SuperCup, with Jastrzębski Węgiel
 2022–23 16px Polish SuperCup, with Jastrzębski Węgiel
 2022–23 16px Polish Championship, with Jastrzębski Węgiel
 2023–24 16px Polish Championship, with Jastrzębski Węgiel
 2024–25 16px Polish Cup, with Jastrzębski Węgiel

Youth national team
 2014 16px CEV U20 European Championship
 2015 16px CEV U19 European Championship
 2015 16px European Youth Olympic Festival
 2015 16px FIVB U19 World Championship
 2016 16px CEV U20 European Championship
 2017 16px FIVB U21 World Championship

Individual awards
 2014: CEV U20 European Championship – Best receiver
 2021: Polish SuperCup – Most valuable player
 2023: PlusLiga – Player of the season
 2024: FIVB Nations League – Best outside spiker
 2025: Polish Cup – Most valuable player

State awards
	* 2024: 60px|Ribbon Knight's Cross of Polonia Restituta

References

External links


 Player profile at PlusLiga.pl  
 Player profile at Volleybox.net

Category:1997 births
Category:Living people
Category:Sportspeople from Kraków
Category:Volleyball players from Lesser Poland Voivodeship
Category:Polish men's volleyball players
Category:Olympic volleyball players for Poland
Category:Volleyball players at the 2024 Summer Olympics
Category:Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics
Category:Olympic medalists in volleyball
Category:Olympic silver medalists for Poland
Category:Polish expatriate volleyball players in Turkey
Category:Czarni Radom players
Category:Jastrzębski Węgiel players
Category:Ziraat Bankası volleyball players
Category:Outside hitters
Category:21st-century Polish sportsmen