Benjamin Toniutti (born 30 October 1989) is a French professional

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player who plays as a setter for and captains both the Polish club

Jastrzębski Węgiel Jastrzębski Węgiel, is a professional men's volleyball club based in Jastrzębie-Zdrój in southern Poland, founded in 1961. They compete in the Polish PlusLiga. Since foundation the club has been closely linked to coal mining in the region. H ...

and the France national team. Toniutti won a gold medal in the men's tournament at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

Tokyo 2020 The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, and is the 2015 European Champion and the 2021 Champions League winner with ZAKSA.

Personal life

Toniutti was born and raised in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

by his father Maurizio, an Italian French, and French mother Cathy. His parents often travel to attend Toniutti's league matches. Toniutti is fluent in Italian. He is married. In August 2015, his wife gave birth to their daughter.

Career

On 13 April 2015, Toniutti signed a contract with the Polish

PlusLiga The PlusLiga is the highest level of men's volleyball in Poland, a professional league competition featuring volleyball clubs located in this country. It is overseen by Polska Liga Siatkówki SA (PLS SA). It is currently a 14 teams league from Oc ...

team,

ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle, is a professional men's volleyball club based in Kędzierzyn-Koźle in southern Poland, founded in 1994. They compete in the Polish PlusLiga. ZAKSA have won 9 domestic league titles, 10 national cups, and three CEV Cha ...

. On 18 October 2015, the France national team, including him, won the 2015 European Champion title, beating

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

in the final. On 26 April 2016, he won his first Polish Champion title with ZAKSA. Toniutti won the 2015–16 PlusLiga ''Most valuable player'' award, and throughout the season received an individual MVP award 10 times. On 2 May 2016, it was announced that Toniutti extended his contract for the next two seasons (until 2018). On 9 July 2017, France won the World League after beating Brazil in the final. In 2018, ZAKSA extended the contract with Toniutti until 2019.

Honours

Club

CEV Champions League The CEV Champions League is the top official competition for men's volleyball clubs from the whole of Europe. The competition is organised every year by the European Volleyball Confederation. Formula (2018–19 to present) Qualification A tota ...

2020–21 – with

2022–23 – with

2023–24 – with Jastrzębski Węgiel * Domestic ** 2014–15 Simple gold cup

German Cup, with

VfB Friedrichshafen VfB Friedrichshafen Volleyball GmbH is a German professional men's volleyball club founded in 1969 and based in Friedrichshafen, southern Baden-Württemberg. Main stakeholder is VfB Friedrichshafen e.V. The club plays in the German Deutsche Volle ...

** 2014–15 Gold medal with cup

German Championship, with VfB Friedrichshafen ** 2015–16 Gold medal with cup

Polish Championship, with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle ** 2016–17 Simple gold cup

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in Association football, football ( ) is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout football competition for Polish football club (association football), football clubs, held continuously since 1950, and is the second most i ...

, with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle ** 2016–17 Gold medal with cup

Polish Championship, with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle ** 2018–19 Simple gold cup

, with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle ** 2018–19 Gold medal with cup

Polish Championship, with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle ** 2019–20 Simple gold cup

Polish SuperCup The Polish Super Cup (, ) is an annually held match between the champions of the Ekstraklasa and the Polish Cup winners or, if the Ekstraklasa champions also win the Polish Cup, the Cup's runners-up. As of 2024, the Polish Super Cup has been p ...

, with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle ** 2020–21 Simple gold cup

, with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle ** 2021–22 Simple gold cup

, with Jastrzębski Węgiel ** 2022–23 Simple gold cup

, with Jastrzębski Węgiel ** 2022–23 Gold medal with cup

Polish Championship, with Jastrzębski Węgiel ** 2023–24 Gold medal with cup

Polish Championship, with Jastrzębski Węgiel ** 2024–25 Simple gold cup

, with Jastrzębski Węgiel

Youth national team

* 2006

CEV U20 European Championship * 2007 Gold medal europe

CEV U19 European Championship * 2008 Gold medal europe

CEV U20 European Championship

Individual awards

* 2007: CEV U19 European Championship – Best setter * 2013: French Championship – Most valuable player * 2013: French Championship – Best setter * 2015:

FIVB World League The FIVB Volleyball World League was an annual international men's volleyball competition. Created in 1990, it was the longest and richest of all the international events organized by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB). The wome ...

– Best setter * 2016:

– Best setter * 2017:

– Best setter * 2018: FIVB Nations League – Best setter * 2019:

– Best setter * 2019: CEV European Championship – Best setter

State awards

* 2021:

Knight of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

References

External links

*
Benjamin Toniutti
at ''LegaVolley.it''
Benjamin Toniutti
at ''PlusLiga.pl''
Benjamin Toniutti
at ''Volleybox.net'' * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Toniutti, Benjamin 1989 births Living people French sportspeople of Italian descent Sportspeople from Mulhouse French men's volleyball players Olympic volleyball players for France Olympic gold medalists for France Olympic medalists in volleyball Volleyball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Volleyball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Volleyball players at the 2024 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics European champions for France French expatriate volleyball players in Italy French expatriate volleyball players in Russia French expatriate volleyball players in Germany French expatriate volleyball players in Poland VC Zenit Kazan players ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle players Jastrzębski Węgiel players Setters (volleyball) Knights of the Legion of Honour Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century French sportsmen