Norway | |||
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Information | |||
Association | Norwegian Handball Federation | ||
Coach | Thorir Hergeirsson | ||
Assistant coach | Mia Hermansson Högdahl | ||
Captain | Stine Bredal Oftedal | ||
Most caps | Karoline Dyhre Breivang (305) | ||
Most goals | Kjersti Grini (1003) | ||
Colours | |||
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Results | |||
Summer Olympics | |||
Appearances | 7 (First in 1988) | ||
Best result | 1st (2008, 2012) | ||
World Championship | |||
Appearances | 19 (First in 1971) | ||
Best result | 1st (1999, 2011, 2015) | ||
European Championship | |||
Appearances | 12 (First in 1994) | ||
Best result | 1st (1998, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2016) | ||
Last updated on Unknown. |
The Norway women's national handball team is the national team of Norway. It is governed by the Norwegian Handball Federation and takes part in international handball competitions. As of 2015, Norway has been in 20 finals and is regarded as the finest women's national handball team ever.
Norway women's national handball team is the only team in handball history, on the women's and men's side, to have won the European Championship in Handball four times in a row. (They have won a total of 7 gold medals, an all-time record) and they are the current defending European Champions, and defending World Champions. In 2011, they became the third team in the World and only the second Woman's team behind Denmark to have held all three titles simultaneously. (The World Championship, the Olympic Championship & The Euro Championship) In 2015, by winning the World Championship held in Denmark, Norway became the first Women's Handball team to hold all international titles twice, having won the 2015 World Championship, the 2014 European Championship and the 2012 Olympic Championship.
Norway has been among the world elite in women's handball since the break-through at the 1986 World Championship where the team won a bronze medal. Since then, Norway has won six European Championships, and two World Championships. Norway has also participated in four final matches of the Summer Olympics, and won gold in Beijing 2008 and London 2012. Norway is the most successful team in the European Championships, having won six golds, three silvers, and one bronze in just eleven tournaments. The only time Norway finished outside of the top three was at the 2000 European Championship.
The very first match of the Norwegian women's national handball team, against Sweden in 1946, was met with great public interest. The game ended 2–5 in favour of Sweden. During the fifties and sixties women's handball had a relatively low profile in Norway. The national team regularly participated at the Scandinavian Championships, and they qualified for the World Championships in 1971, 1973, 1975 and 1982, placing 7th and 8th.