View source for Karch Kiraly

{{short description|American volleyball player and coach}}
{{use American English|date=September 2020}}
{{use mdy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox volleyball biography
| name             = Charles Kiraly
| image            = Karch Kiraly 2014.jpg
| caption          = 
| fullname         = Charles Frederick Kiraly
| nickname         = Karch
| birth_date       = {{Birth date and age|1960|11|3}}
| birth_place      = [[Jackson, Michigan]], U.S.
| hometown         = [[Santa Barbara, California]], U.S.
| height           = {{convert|1.88|m|ftin|abbr=on|order=flip}}
| weight           = {{convert|93|kg|lb|abbr=on|order=flip}}
| college          = [[UCLA Bruins|UCLA]]
| position         = Outside hitter
| teamnumber       = 15
| nationalyears    = 1981–1989
| nationalteam     = {{vb|USA}}
| years            = 2003
| teammates        = Brent Doble
| tours (points)   = 120
| resultyears      = 
| location         = 
| result           = 
| medaltemplates-title = Medal record
| medaltemplates   = 
{{MedalSport|Head coach for the {{USA}} [[United States women's national volleyball team|women's volleyball]]}}
{{MedalOlympic}}
{{MedalGold|[[2020 Summer Olympics|2020 Tokyo]]|[[Volleyball at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament|Indoor]]}}
{{MedalSilver|[[2024 Summer Olympics|2024 Paris]]|[[Volleyball at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament|Indoor]]}}
{{MedalBronze|[[2016 Summer Olympics|2016 Rio de Janeiro]]|[[Volleyball at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament|Indoor]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship|World Championship]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[2014 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship|2014 Italy]]|[[2014 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship squads|Indoor]]}}
{{MedalCountry| the {{USA}}}}
{{MedalOlympic}}
{{MedalGold|[[1984 Summer Olympics|1984 Los Angeles]]|[[Volleyball at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament|Indoor]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1988 Summer Olympics|1988 Seoul]]|[[Volleyball at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament|Indoor]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1996 Summer Olympics|1996 Atlanta]]|[[Beach volleyball at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament|Beach]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship|World Championship]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1986 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship|1986 France]]|[[1986 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship squads|Indoor]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup|FIVB World Cup]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1985 FIVB Men's World Cup|1985 Japan]]|}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Goodwill Games]]}}
{{MedalSilver|[[1986 Goodwill Games|1986 Moscow]]|}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Pan American Games]]|Pan American Games}}
{{MedalGold | [[1987 Pan American Games|1987 Indianapolis]] | [[Volleyball at the 1987 Pan American Games|Indoor]]}}
| currentcoachteam = [[United States men's national volleyball team|United States]]
}}

'''Charles Frederick''' "'''Karch'''" '''Kiraly''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɑr|tʃ|_|k|ɪ|ˈ|r|aɪ}} {{respell|KARCH|_|kirr|EYE}}; born November 3, 1960) is an American [[volleyball]] player, coach, and broadcast announcer. He was a central part of the [[United States men's national volleyball team|U.S National Team]] that won gold medals at the [[1984 Summer Olympics|1984]] and [[1988 Summer Olympics|1988 Olympic Games]]. He went on to win the gold medal again at the [[1996 Summer Olympics|1996 Olympic Games]], the first [[Beach volleyball at the Summer Olympics|Olympic competition to feature beach volleyball]]. He is the only player (man or woman) to have won Olympic medals of any color in both the indoor and beach volleyball categories. He played college volleyball for the [[UCLA Bruins]], where his teams won three national championships under head coach [[Al Scates]]. Kiraly is widely regarded as the greatest male volleyball player of all time.

Kiraly is currently the head coach of the [[United States men's national volleyball team]]. Previously, he was the coach of the United States women’s national team leading them to their first-ever gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and thereby completing the "triple crown" of coaching an Olympic gold medal-winning team as well as personally winning gold medals in both indoor and beach volleyball.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bolch |first=Ben |publisher=Los Angeles Times |agency=Tribune News Service |title=U.S. women's volleyball beats Brazil to win its first Olympic gold medal |url=https://www.murrayledger.com/sports/national/u-s-women-s-volleyball-beats-brazil-to-win-its-first-olympic-gold-medal/article_00e34274-f8a2-11eb-bbc8-e727993eb27e.html |access-date=July 24, 2023 |work=Murray Ledger and Times |date=August 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902225156/https://www.murrayledger.com/sports/national/u-s-women-s-volleyball-beats-brazil-to-win-its-first-olympic-gold-medal/article_00e34274-f8a2-11eb-bbc8-e727993eb27e.html |archive-date=September 2, 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Early life==
Kiraly grew up in Santa Barbara, California.  He began playing volleyball at age six with encouragement from his father, Laszlo Kiraly, who had been a member of the Hungarian Junior National team prior to fleeing the country during the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956|Hungarian national uprising]] of 1956. At age 11, Kiraly entered his first beach volleyball tournament paired with his father. His father played a key role in creating the boys' volleyball program at the school. The Dons of Santa Barbara made it to the championship game twice during Kiraly's high school years, reaching the finals his sophomore year before losing in the championship match to [[San Clemente High School (San Clemente, California)|San Clemente High School]] in 1976. In his senior year, Kiraly's high school team went undefeated, winning [[CIF Southern Section|CIF SS]] by defeating [[Laguna Beach High School]] in the title game in 1978, and Kiraly was voted Sectional Player of the Year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-04-25-ss-58560-story.html |last=Itagaki |first=Michael |title=The Turning Point: Since Mid-'70s Laguna Beach Has Ruled Boys' Volleyball |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=April 25, 1995 |access-date=May 21, 2014 }} {{subscription required}}</ref> During his high school years, Kiraly was invited to join the Junior National Team, on which he competed for three years. Kiraly has credited his high school coach, Rick Olmstead, for teaching him the value of hard work and dedication.

While growing up, he had the Hungarian nickname Karcsi (pronounced Karch-ee), which corresponds to the Hungarian name Karoly for Charles. Later at UCLA he began to be called Karch.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2YrlyCSJnHwC&pg=PA256 |last=Couvillon |first=Art |title=Karch Kiraly: A Tribute to Excellence |page=256 |isbn=978-0938329114 |date=June 19, 2008 |publisher=Information Guides }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-08-24-sp-885-story.html |title=No Time to Lose : Kiraly's Drive for Perfection Comes From Beyond the Volleyball Court |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=August 24, 1988 |last=Holbreich |first=Curt |access-date=August 5, 2023 }} {{subscription required}}</ref>

==College career==
In 1978, Kiraly enrolled at UCLA, where he majored in [[biochemistry]] and also was a brother of the Epsilon Sigma Chapter of [[Lambda Chi Alpha]]. From his freshman year, he played outside hitter and setter on the Bruins' [[UCLA Bruins#Volleyball|volleyball team]], playing opposite junior [[Sinjin Smith]] in the Bruins' 6–2 offense. Under head coach Al Scates, Kiraly led UCLA to the [[NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship]] in his freshman season in 1979. In his sophomore season, the Bruins made it to the finals again but lost to crosstown rivals [[University of Southern California|USC]]. UCLA reclaimed the top spot in Kiraly's junior season. Kiraly finished his college career with another title during his senior year. In his four years, the Bruins compiled a 123–5 match record, with titles in 1979, 1981, and 1982. They went undefeated in the 1979 and 1982 seasons.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.si.com/more-sports/2012/04/20/al-scates |last=Shipnuck |first=Alan |title=Legendary UCLA men's volleyball coach Al Scates shoots for 20th ring |magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]] |date=April 20, 2012 |access-date=July 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130103453/https://www.si.com/more-sports/2012/04/20/al-scates |archive-date=January 30, 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref> Kiraly earned All-American honors all four years,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ocregister.com/articles/volleyball-505717-team-first.html |last=Marroquin |first=Art |title=Superstar Kiraly now coaching US volleyball |work=Orange County Register |date=August 21, 2013 |access-date=March 21, 2017 }} {{subscription required}}</ref> and was awarded NCAA Volleyball Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 1981 and 1982.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_volleyball_champs_records/2013/d1/2013_NC_Champ.pdf |title=NCAA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship |access-date=March 21, 2017 |publisher=[[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524183524/http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_volleyball_champs_records/2013/d1/2013_NC_Champ.pdf |archive-date=May 24, 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Kiraly earned a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in biochemistry from UCLA, graduating [[cum laude#Types|cum laude]] in June 1983 with a 3.55 [[Grade point average|cumulative GPA]].<ref name="BruinAlumnus">{{cite web |url=http://www.chemistry.ucla.edu/news/notable-alumni-gold-medalist-karch-kiraly-leads-olympic-volleyball-team-rio |website=UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry |title=Notable Alumni - Gold medalist Karch Kiraly leads Olympic volleyball team in Rio |access-date=March 21, 2017 |date=August 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610114657/https://www.chemistry.ucla.edu/news/notable-alumni-gold-medalist-karch-kiraly-leads-olympic-volleyball-team-rio/ |archive-date=June 10, 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Kiraly was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 1992, and his jersey was retired in 1993.<ref name="BruinAlumnus" /><ref name="Greatest">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-03-06-sp-202-story.html |last=Witherspoon |first=Wendy |title=Above the Rest: Karch Kiraly, Perhaps the Greatest Volleyball Player Ever, Returns to UCLA on Sunday to Have His Jersey Retired |work=Los Angeles Times |date=March 6, 1993 |access-date=March 21, 2017 }} {{subscription required}}</ref>

Growing up, Kiraly wanted to be a biochemist to follow in his father's footsteps, but that changed when he joined the US national team and led it to multiple gold medals. He was twice named the best player in the world by the international governing body. He was also named the best volleyball player of the 20th century along with Lorenzo Bernardi.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Karch Kiraly |url=https://usopm.org/karch-kiraly/ |access-date=September 14, 2021 |website=United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324231702/https://usopm.org/karch-kiraly/ |archive-date=March 24, 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==United States national team==
Kiraly joined the national team in 1981.<ref name="SportsIllustrated">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.si.com/more-sports/2010/01/01/volleyball1001 |last=Anderson |first=Kelli |title=Let Us Now Praise Karch Kiraly |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=September 25, 2007 |access-date=March 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202052725/https://www.si.com/more-sports/2007/09/25/volleyball1001 |archive-date=February 2, 2023 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Playing outside hitter, he proved to be an extremely solid passer. Along with teammate [[Aldis Berzins]], Kiraly was the foundation for the "two-man" serve reception system [[Doug Beal]] created in 1983.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2YrlyCSJnHwC&pg=PA256 |last=Couvillon |first=Art |title=Karch Kiraly: A Tribute to Excellence |page=72 |isbn=978-0938329114 |date=June 19, 2008 |publisher=Information Guides }}</ref> Along with covering half the court on serve receive and consistently delivering the ball to team setter [[Dusty Dvorak]], Kiraly proved to be an excellent defender and a highly productive outside hitter. Kiraly led the U.S. National Team to the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics, overcoming a pool play loss to Brazil to defeat Brazil in the finals. Kiraly was the youngest player on the gold medal team.

The US National team showed their place as the world's best team by winning the [[1985 FIVB Men's World Cup|1985 FIVB World Cup]], followed by the [[1986 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship|1986 FIVB World Championship]]. In the 1988 Summer Olympics, the team won its second Olympic gold medal, this time defeating the USSR in the championship match.<ref name="NYT-Seoul">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/03/sports/men-s-volleyball-us-repeats-gold-medal-performance.html |date=October 3, 1988 |last=Vecsey |first=George |page=C11 |title=Men's Volleyball; U.S. Repeats Gold-Medal Performance |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=September 6, 2024 }} {{subscription required}}</ref> Kiraly was selected as a captain for the 1988 team at Seoul.<ref name="SI-1988">{{Cite magazine |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1988/10/10/volleyball-west-bests-east-the-us-men-spiked-their-rivals-and-drinking-buddies-the-soviets-for-the-gold |magazine=Sports Illustrated |title=West Bests East |last=Anderson |first=Bruce |date=October 10, 1988 |publisher=Time |location=New York City |access-date=September 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803130031/https://vault.si.com/vault/1988/10/10/volleyball-west-bests-east-the-us-men-spiked-their-rivals-and-drinking-buddies-the-soviets-for-the-gold |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[International Volleyball Federation|FIVB]] named Kiraly the top player in the world in 1986 and 1988.<ref>{{Cite interview |url=http://foot.com/site/sports-center/beach-volleyball-karch-kiraly |last=Kiraly |first=Karch |subject-link=Karch Kiraly |interviewer=Faye Rapoport |title=Beach Volleyball - Karch Kiraly |website=Foot.com |access-date=March 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322112044/http://foot.com/site/sports-center/beach-volleyball-karch-kiraly |archive-date=March 22, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Following the 1988 Olympics, Kiraly retired from the national team. He and teammate [[Steve Timmons]] played professional volleyball for [[Porto Ravenna Volley|Il Messaggero Ravenna]] in Italy from 1990 to 1992.<ref name="Greatest" /> The team included Italians [[Fabio Vullo]] and [[Andrea Gardini]], Roberto Masciarelli, and Stefano Margutti as team members. In two seasons the team won a series of titles, including the [[Italian Volleyball League]] (1991), the Italian Cup (1991), [[FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship]] (1991), [[CEV Champions League]] (1992), and the European Supercup (1992).

==Career in beach volleyball==
Kiraly had a long career on the professional beach circuit, and with 148 career tournaments won is the 'winningest' player in the sport's history. He won at least one tournament in 24 of the 28 seasons he played in a career that spanned four decades. He claimed titles with 13 partners, and in domestic events, he made it to the semifinals over 80% of the time. Kiraly competed into his mid-40s.<ref name="BVDB">{{cite web |url=http://www.bvbinfo.com/player.asp?ID=69 |title=Karch Kiraly |website=Beach Volleyball Database |access-date=March 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230518140332/http://www.bvbinfo.com/player.asp?ID=69 |archive-date=May 18, 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Kiraly played in his first beach tournament at age 11 as his father's partner. Kiraly has said as an 11-year-old he was thrilled to discover in beach volleyball he could compete with grown men on even terms. He earned his A and AA ratings on the beach at the age of 15 and his AAA rating at 17. Kiraly's first big beach breakthrough came at Hermosa Beach in 1978. As a 17-year-old who had just graduated from high school, he shocked Hermosa onlookers by gaining the finals before he and partner Marco Ortega lost to the day's dominant team on the beach, [[Jim Menges]] and [[Greg Lee (basketball)|Greg Lee]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Partners part ways, produce power pairs |url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/summer/2005-07-20-volleyball-teammates_x.htm |last=Moore |first=David Leon |work=[[USA Today]] |date=July 22, 2005 |access-date=July 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202052721/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/summer/2005-07-20-volleyball-teammates_x.htm |archive-date=February 2, 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the early 1980s, Kiraly made a successful beach team pairing with UCLA teammate Sinjin Smith. The partnership split up as Kiraly came to focus on the U.S. National Team.

In 1992, Kiraly left his indoor career behind, returning to the U.S. to play [[beach volleyball]] full-time on the [[Association of Volleyball Professionals|AVP tour]]. Kiraly chose [[Kent Steffes]] as his doubles partner. Steffes was a talented younger player who had left UCLA early to start playing on the professional beach tour. Kiraly and Steffes soon became the dominant pairing on the tour, supplanting former teammate and doubles partner Smith and his partner [[Randy Stoklos]] as the beach's top team. In 1996 Kiraly returned to the Olympics, this time competing in beach volleyball with his partner, Steffes. Kiraly and Steffes won the [[Volleyball at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's beach volleyball|gold medal]], the first ever awarded for men's beach volleyball.<ref name="NYT">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/29/sports/atlanta-day-10-beach-volleyball-golden-sand-for-kiraly-and-steffes.html |last=Clarey |first=Christopher |date=July 29, 1996 |newspaper=The New York Times |page=C9 |title=Atlanta Day 10 -- Beach Volleyball; Golden Sand for Kiraly and Steffes |access-date=September 8, 2024 }} {{subscription required}}</ref>

Kiraly continued to win tournaments into his 40s, recording two AVP tournament victories with his partner Brent Doble in 2002 and 2003, and four more with [[Michael Lambert (volleyball)|Mike Lambert]] in 2004 and 2005. Kiraly's last victory came in August 2005, when he and Lambert won at [[Huntington Beach, California|Huntington Beach]]. In 2006, Kiraly partnered with Larry Witt, and in 2007 partnered with [[Kevin Wong]]. His teams continued to make high placings. Over his career on the beach, Kiraly won over $3 million in prize money and earned considerably more in endorsements. Kiraly retired from the AVP tour after the 2007 season.<ref name="retirement">{{cite news |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2007-08-30-kiraly-retirement_N.htm |title=For volleyball legend Kiraly, one last day at the beach |last=Moore |first=David Leon |work=USA Today |date=September 1, 2007 |access-date=March 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202052721/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2007-08-30-kiraly-retirement_N.htm |archive-date=February 2, 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Ultimately Kiraly won 148 professional beach volleyball titles, 74 of them with Steffes.<ref name="SportsIllustrated" /> The next closest player in total wins is Sinjin Smith at 139. Following Smith is his longtime partner, Randy Stoklos, at 122. The next closest player is Kent Steffes at 110, followed by Emanuel Rego, with 78 wins.

==Broadcasting==
Kiraly has worked as a broadcaster for [[ESPN]] and provided color commentary for the AVP on NBC broadcasts. Kiraly worked as an analyst for [[NBC Sports]] during their coverage of the beach volleyball competition at the  [[Volleyball at the 2008 Summer Olympics|2008 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/bs-mtblog-2008-07-your_nbc_olympics_lineup-story.html |title=Your NBC Olympics lineup |last=Frager |first=Ray |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |date=July 16, 2008 |access-date=March 21, 2017 |archive-date=April 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408190554/https://www.baltimoresun.com/bs-mtblog-2008-07-your_nbc_olympics_lineup-story.html |url-status=dead }}{{subscription required}}</ref>

==Coaching career==
Kiraly began coaching at [[St. Margaret's Episcopal School|St. Margaret's Episcopal High School]], where he coached his sons, Kristian and Kory.<ref name="Digging">{{cite web |url=http://www.ocregister.com/articles/-66236--.html |last=Price |first=Shawn |title=Digging life, on and off sand |work=[[Orange County Register]] |date=May 6, 2007 |access-date=October 8, 2013 }} {{subscription required}}</ref>

Head coach [[Hugh McCutcheon]] of the [[United States women's national volleyball team|US National Women's Volleyball team]] hired Kiraly as an assistant, where he helped coach the team to a silver medal at the [[Volleyball at the 2012 Summer Olympics|2012 London Olympics]].

In 2012, Kiraly was named head coach of the US National Women's Volleyball team to try to compete in the [[Volleyball at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament|2016 Olympics]] in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2012/September/11/Karch-Kiraly.aspx |title=Karch Kiraly Named U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team Head Coach |last=Kauffman |first=Bill |publisher=USA Volleyball |date=September 10, 2012 |access-date=March 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425114605/http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2012/September/11/Karch-Kiraly.aspx |archive-date=April 25, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In October 2014, Kiraly coached the Women's National Team to the FIVB World Championship, defeating China in the Gold Medal final. In doing so, Kiraly became the fourth person to win a World Championship gold medal as a player and a coach.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2014/October/12/VICTORY-US-Women-Win-First-World-Championship |last=Snyder |first=Charlie |title=VICTORY! U.S. Women Win First World Championship |publisher=USA Volleyball |date=October 12, 2014 |access-date=March 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706143108/http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2014/October/12/VICTORY-US-Women-Win-First-World-Championship |archive-date=July 6, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During the [[Volleyball at the 2016 Summer Olympics|2016 Olympics]] in Rio de Janeiro, Kiraly coached the US women to a bronze medal, becoming the fourth player to win medals as player and coach.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://rio2016.fivb.com/en/news/questions-asked-and-questions-answered-as-curtain?id=64525 |title=Questions asked and questions answered as curtain falls on Rio 2016 |work=Rio 2016 Fédération Internationale de Volleyball |date=August 22, 2016 |access-date=July 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807213404/http://rio2016.fivb.com/en/news/questions-asked-and-questions-answered-as-curtain?id=64525 |archive-date=August 7, 2022 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League]] 2021 championship was held in Italy and Karch coached the women's indoor USA team to win the top prize of $1 million.

On August 8, 2021, during the [[Volleyball at the 2020 Summer Olympics|2020 Olympics]] in Tokyo, Japan, Kiraly coached the US women to a gold medal, becoming the second person to win a gold medal as player and coach; the first was [[Lang Ping]] from China.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/news/united-states-win-maiden-gold-at-women-s-indoor-volleyball |title=United States win maiden gold at women's indoor volleyball |work=Olympics.com |agency=Associated Press |date=August 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210808064211/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/news/united-states-win-maiden-gold-at-women-s-indoor-volleyball |archive-date=August 8, 2021 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Personal life==
Kiraly resides in [[Heber City, Utah]], with his wife Janna, and two sons, Kristian and Kory.  His father, Laszlo Kiraly, played for the [[Hungary|Hungarian]] junior national volleyball team.<ref name="Digging" /> Kiraly studied biochemistry in college, and considered pursuing a career in medicine after completing college.<ref name="Digging" />

Kiraly babysat [[Misty May-Treanor]] when she was a youngster.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Olympics/idUSL2448442420080725 |last=Barrett |first=Jane |title=U.S. golden girls appear unstoppable |publisher=[[Reuters]] |date=July 24, 2008 |access-date=March 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711174338/https://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Olympics/idUSL2448442420080725 |archive-date=July 11, 2022 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On the same day Kiraly led the national team to their historic gold medal win at the [[2020 Summer Olympics]], he revealed that he was diagnosed with [[colon cancer]] in 2017 and had to have doctors remove part of his colon in order to fight the disease. Trying to keep the team in good working order, he did not want to make his team feel sad and decided not to share the news with them until he went into cancer remission in 2021.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.sltrib.com/sports/2021/08/08/usa-volleyballs-first/ |last=Jag |first=Julie |title=USA volleyball's first Olympic gold medal has a distinctly Utah flavor |newspaper=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |date=August 8, 2021 |access-date=August 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711174400/https://www.sltrib.com/sports/2021/08/08/usa-volleyballs-first/ |archive-date=July 11, 2022 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Publications==
Kiraly is the author of three books, ''Karch Kiraly's Championship Volleyball'', co-authored with Jon Hastings and published by Simon and Schuster in 1996,  ''Beach Volleyball'', co-authored with Byron Shewman and published by Human Kinetics in 1999, and ''Chasing Greatness'', co-authored with Don Patterson and published by Total Sports LLC in 2023.

==Popular culture==

In 1994, Kiraly acted in an episode of the television show ''[[Baywatch]]'' titled "I Spike."<ref name="IMDb">{{Cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0456086/ |website=[[IMDb]] |title=Karch Kiraly |access-date=July 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701112310/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0456086/ |archive-date=July 1, 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Awards and honors==
College
* NCAA National Champion (1979, 1981, 1982) and Runner-Up (1980)
* NCAA Volleyball Tournament Most Outstanding Player (1981, 1982) and All-Tournament Team (1980, 1981, 1982)
* UCLA Hall of Fame (inducted 1992)

Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB: International Federation of Volleyball)
* FIVB Best Player in the World (1986, 1988)
* FIVB Best Player of the 20th Century<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.fivb.org/EN/volleyball/Competitions/WorldChampionships/2010/Women/viewPressRelease.asp?No=26839 |title=Our brilliant careers: Volleyball's two greatest players speak |work=[[Fédération Internationale de Volleyball]] |date=October 29, 2010 |access-date=July 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711184719/http://www.fivb.org/EN/volleyball/Competitions/WorldChampionships/2010/Women/viewPressRelease.asp?No=26839 |archive-date=July 11, 2022 |url-status=live }}</ref>

American Volleyball Professionals (AVP Professional Beach Volleyball)
* AVP Best Offensive Player (1990, 1993, 1994)
* AVP Best Defensive Player (2002)
* AVP Comeback Player of the Year (1997)
* AVP Most Valuable Player (1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998)
* AVP Sportsman of the Year (1995, 1997, 1998)
* AVP Outstanding Achievement Award (2004)

Other 
* NORCECA Championship (1983, 1985) and silver medal (1981)
* Olympic Games (1984, 1988, 1996)
** MVP Olympic Games (1988)
* World Cup (1985)
** MVP World Cup (1985)
* World Championship (1986)
* Goodwill Games silver medal (1986)
* Pan American Games (1987)
* Italian Championship (1990/1991)
* Club World Cup (1991)
** MVP Club World Cup (1991)
* European Champions Cup (1991/1992)
* European Super Cup (1991)

[[Volleyball Hall of Fame]] inducted 2001.

American Volleyball Coaches Association
* AVCA Hall of Fame inducted 2005.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.avca.org/hall-of-fame-selections.html |title=AVCA Hall of Fame Members |website=American Volleyball Coaches Association |access-date=March 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530121031/https://www.avca.org/hall-of-fame-selections.html |archive-date=May 30, 2023 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Sports information director|College Sports Information Directors of America]]
* Academic [[All-America]] Hall of Fame inducted 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cosida.com/sports/2014/11/5/AAA_1105141905.aspx?id=160& |title=Academic All-America Hall of Fame Members |website=College Sports Information Directors of America |access-date=March 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206175033/http://cosida.com/sports/2014/11/5/AAA_1105141905.aspx?id=160& |archive-date=2017-02-06 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2008.

==References==
;Citations

{{reflist}}
;Bibliography
* {{cite book |last=Couvillon |first=Arthur R. |title=Karch Kiraly: A Tribute to Excellence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2YrlyCSJnHwC |location=Hermosa Beach, Calif |publisher=Information Guides |date=January 19, 2008 |isbn=978-0-938329-11-4}}
* {{cite book |last1=Kiraly |first1=Karch |last2=Hastings |first2=Jon |title=Karch Kiraly's Championship Volleyball |publisher=Touchstone |date=June 13, 1996 |location=New York |isbn=978-0-684-81466-7}}
* {{cite book |last1=Kiraly |first1=Karch |last2=Shewman |first2=Byron |title=Beach Volleyball |url=https://archive.org/details/beachvolleyball0000kira |url-access=registration |location=Champaign, IL |publisher=Human Kinetics |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-88011-836-1}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [http://www.volleycountry.com/news/kiraly-volleyball-academy Karch Kiraly Volleyball Academy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126184917/https://volleycountry.com/news/kiraly-volleyball-academy |date=November 26, 2020 }}
* {{Beach Volleyball Database}}
* {{Team USA Hall of Fame|new_id=karch-kiraly|old_id=Karch-Kiraly|archive=20230903175135}}
* {{Olympics.com profile|org_archive=20170720180603}}
* {{Olympedia}}

{{s-start}}
{{Succession box
| before = {{flagicon|NZL}} [[Hugh McCutcheon]]
| title = [[United States women's national volleyball team]] coach
| years = 2012–present
| after = Incumbent
}}
{{S-end}}

{{#invoke:navboxes|top
| title = United States squads
| bg = #002868
| fg = #ffffff 
}}
{{United States men's volleyball squad 1984 Summer Olympics}}
{{USA squad 1985 FIVB Men's World Cup}}
{{USA squad 1986 FIVB Men's World Championship}}
{{United States men's volleyball squad 1988 Summer Olympics}}
{{USA world championship Squad 2014}}
{{USA world cup Squad 2015}}
{{United States women's volleyball squad 2016 Summer Olympics}}
{{USA world cup Squad 2019}}
{{United States women's volleyball squad 2020 Summer Olympics}}
{{USA squad 2022 FIVB Women's World Championship}}
{{United States women's volleyball squad 2024 Summer Olympics}}
{{#invoke:navboxes|bottom}}
{{Navigation Olympic Champions Beach Volleyball}}
{{FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship winning managers}}
{{Footer USA Volleyball 1996 Summer Olympics}}
{{Footer USA Volleyball 2016 Summer Olympics}}
{{Footer USA Volleyball 2020 Summer Olympics}}
{{Volleyball Hall of Fame members|state=collapsed}}
{{American Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame members|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiraly, Karch}}
[[Category:1960 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:American men's beach volleyball players]]
[[Category:American men's volleyball players]]
[[Category:American people of Hungarian descent]]
[[Category:American volleyball coaches]]
[[Category:Beach volleyball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Coaches at the 2020 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Coaches at the 2024 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games]]
[[Category:Goodwill Games medalists in volleyball]]
[[Category:International Volleyball Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic beach volleyball players for the United States]]
[[Category:Olympic coaches for the United States]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in volleyball]]
[[Category:Olympic medalists in beach volleyball]]
[[Category:Olympic volleyball coaches]]
[[Category:Outside hitters]]
[[Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in volleyball]]
[[Category:Setters (volleyball)]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Jackson, Michigan]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from San Clemente, California]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Santa Barbara, California]]
[[Category:Sportspeople of Hungarian descent]]
[[Category:UCLA Bruins men's volleyball players]]
[[Category:Volleyball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Volleyball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics]]