FILE – United States’coach Karch Kiraly reacts during a gold medal women’s volleyball match between the United States of America and Italy at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa, File)
Volleyball great Karch Kiraly, who won the first of his three Olympic gold medals as a member of the U.S. indoor team in Los Angeles in 1984, will coach the American men at the Summer Games when they return to LA in 2028.
Kiraly will switch from the women’s program he led to medals in each of the last three Olympics to take over for John Speraw, who coached the men to the bronze medal in Paris before becoming USA Volleyball’s president and CEO this month. Speraw called Kiraly, who won two gold medals in indoor volleyball and one on the beach as an athlete, “Team USA’s greatest winner.”
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Kiraly had been the head coach of the U.S. women’s national team since September 2012, leading it to the bronze medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, gold in Tokyo and silver this summer in Paris. The Americans also claimed their first world championship in 2014.
Kiraly also was an assistant coach for the women’s team that won silver at the London Games.
“For one-quarter of my life, I’ve poured everything I have into the U.S. women’s team,” he said. “Now, it’s time for new adventures and new challenges.”
The U.S. men are ranked No. 3 in the world.
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“I am thrilled beyond words at the opportunity to coach the U.S. men’s national team,” Kiraly said. “I’ve watched with respect and admiration for everyone in the program as they’ve pursued excellence, both in training and in competition. This opportunity shines even brighter as I fondly recall the nine seasons I spent as a player with the program.”
A gold medalist in 1984 and ‘88 as part of the U.S. indoor team and in ’96 on the beach, Kiraly was named the greatest volleyball player of the 20th century by the International Volleyball Federation.
“All of us at USA Volleyball recognize that our record of success in the sport began when Karch led Team USA to the gold medal in 1984,” Speraw said. “I think it is fitting that when Karch steps onto the court at the LA Olympics, he will be competing with the men’s team one more time.”