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Karch Kiraly
- Named 'Greatest Volleyball Player of the Century' by FIVB, the international governing body
- Three-time Olympic gold medalist (1984, 1988 indoor champion; 1996 beach champion)
- Was named by FIVB as the Best Male Volleyball Player in the World in 1986 and 1988
- Holds the beach volleyball record with 143 career wins breaking the all-time mark of 139
- While at UCLA, he led his teams to three NCAA Men's Volleyball Championships while being named to the NCAA Men's All-American team four times
- Was the youngest player on the USA Gold Medal-winning team in Los Angeles in 1984
- Resides in San Clemente, Calif. with his wife, Janna and two sons, Kristian and Kory
- Started learning volleyball at the age of six from his father, Laazio, a former Hungarian Junior National Team player
- Entered his first beach tournament at 11 and led Santa Barbara High School to an undefeated season in 1978
- Graduated from UCLA in June of 1983 with a 3.34 GPA in Bio-Chemistry
- The first to surpass the $3 million milestone in volleyball - the exact number is $3,001,258.
- Named to the Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2001
- Accomplished author, and contributing editor to several volleyball publications
- Has worn a pink hat during every competition since 1992; calling it, "tradition"
- Steve Timmons, Ron von Hagen, Jim Menges, Gene Selznick, Sinjin Smith among his favorite volleyball players
- Hobbies include spending time with his family, camping and photography
- Named by FIVB as the Greatest Male Volleyball Player of the 20th Century
Kiraly describes his personal style of play as trying to be a well-rounded, consistent player. Not surprisingly, he lists Al Oerter and Carl Lewis as his favorite athletes of all time, saying, "[They are] the only athletes I know of that won four Gold Medals in four consecutive Olympics, exemplifying greatness over time, which I really admire."
"No volleyball play can begin without a serve, and the serve is the only technique that is totally under your control. In other endeavors, you cannot succeed without believing in yourself, and that belief is completely under your control."
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Height: 6'2
Born: 11/3/1960
Hometown: Santa Barbara, CA
Resides: San Clemente, CA
Sport: Volleyball
Event: Beach and Indoor
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