Poland have participated in the Olympic Games eight times, backed by their best ever finish of gold medal victory in Montreal in 1976. They first appeared in 1968 that resulted to a fifth place finish. In the last three cycles, they earned a triple equal-fifth place finish. The Poles missed out on the two available tickets that would get them the direct qualification to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games but hope to finally break through this year, which will mark their ninth appearance in the quadrennial multi-sport event. 

They hosted and won the 2014 World Championship for the second time as passionate fans roared them to victory in a spectacular tournament that opened in front of a crowd of 61,500 in Warsaw and ended in a 3-1 triumph over Brazil. In 2013 they failed to qualify out of their first round pool at the World League and European Championship. Poland boasts a long and vibrant volleyball tradition, with the national team having played an important role in the sport's development since their appearance at the inaugural World Championship in 1949. The Poles dominated the international scene in the mid-1970s. More recently, they won the bronze medal in the 2011 World League. In the 2015, they reached the final round of the premier annual men’s tournament, but lost in the semifinals to eventual champions France. In the bronze medal match, they were swept by USA. The Europeans came close to the gold medal at the 2011 World Cup, but took silver after finishing three points behind Russia in the standings. That achievement matched their previous best result in their debut campaign in 1965 when they hosted the competition. In their three other appearances, they finished eighth in 1969 and were fourth in 1977 and in 1981. Poland ended up with heart-breaking bronze medal finish after they lost 3-1 to Italy in the 2015 World Cup.