Lausanne, Switzerland, July 8, 2020 – Michal Kubiak has admitted that he is tempted to extend his playing to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The Poland captain will be 36 by the time the Olympics return to the French capital for the third time and it would be his fourth Olympic Games, so long as he is selected for Tokyo 2020 when the rearranged Games take place in 2021.
“It would all depend on how my body copes with the hardships of being a professional athlete for what will be 20 years,” Kubiak told Polish website WP SportoweFakty.
The 32-year-old Kubiak has won two FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship titles, first at Poland 2014 and then at Italy-Bulgaria 2018.
However, the only time Poland have won an Olympic medal came when they won gold at Montreal 1976.
Kubiak played at London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016, but on both occasions, Poland fell at the quarterfinal stage.
Vital Heynen’s side qualified for Tokyo 2020 when they won Pool D of the Tokyo Volleyball Qualification tournament in August 2019.
Now they must refocus and begin a new cycle of preparation for a tournament that has been pushed by 12 months following the coronavirus outbreak.
“I have no influence on whether the Olympic Games in Tokyo will take place next year,” Kubiak said. “I know that the Japanese have invested a lot of money in this event, but all we can do is wait and train to the max.”