Angelina Grün comes from a sporting family and both
of her parents were active athletes. Her father played
volleyball at national junior level.
Now 24, Grün began playing volleyball in 1990 and six
years later was in the national team. She describes
herself as having a lot of fighting spirit and very
ambitious.
The World Championship in 1998 in Japan was her first
major international event. She was just 18 and soon
became a permanent fixture in the team.
Since 1999 she has increasingly assumed more
responsibility in the team and now is the major
attacker.
Since 2001 she has played at club level for Modena in
Italy, and was twice voted Volleyballer of the Year in
Germany in 2000 and 2001. At the 2002 World Grand Prix
in Hong Kong, where Germany was a surprise bronze
medalist, Grün was second top scorer and as a tribute
to her all-round ability, was listed in the top 12 of
five of the other six volleyball skills.
In May if 2003 it was announced that the 185cm "Grüni"
was off to the top Italian league club Foppapedretti
Bergamo, the club that knocked out Modena in the
quarterfinals last season and was then eliminated in
the semis.
Born in Tajikistan, this talented wing-spiker speaks
German, English, French, Russian and Italian and
confesses, in perhaps a sentimental reference to her
place of birth, to a love of Russian food. She
describes her hobbies as reading, painting and touring
cities.
