Handball at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Handball at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad
Tournament details
Host country	Brazil
Dates	6–21 August
Teams	24 (from 4 confederations)
Venue(s)	1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions	Denmark (men); Russia (women)
Runner-up	France (men); France (women)
Third place	Germany (men); Norway (women)
Fourth place	Poland (men); Netherlands (women)
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The handball tournaments at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was held from 6 to 21 August at the Future Arena in the Barra Olympic Park.^[1] The tournaments were won by Denmark in the men's competition and Russia for the women's tournament. The French teams for both competitions finished with the silver medal, and the bronze went to Germany and Norway, respectively.

Format[]

The handball event at the 2016 Summer Olympics was played between 6 and 21 August 2016 at the Future Arena in the Barra Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.^[2] The Games consisted of two tournaments, one each for men and women's teams.^[3] The events featured twelve teams, who qualified for the tournament from a series of preceding tournaments, as well as the host country Brazil. The draw for the championships took place on 29 April 2016, and split the teams into round robin groups of six.^[3] Four teams from each group qualified for the knockout rounds, and the winner and runner-up receiving gold and silver medals respectively. A third-placed play-off was contested for the bronze medal.^[3]

Matches were played over 60 minutes, with two points being awarded to winners and a single point to draws in the group stage.^[2] Teams tied for points in the group stage featured a series of tiebreaker criteria including head-to-head points, goal difference and goals scored.^[2]^[4]

Competition schedule[]

G	Group stage	¼	Quarter-finals	½	Semi-finals	B	Bronze medal match	F	Final

Date Event	Sat 6	Sun 7	Mon 8	Tue 9	Wed 10	Thu 11	Fri 12	Sat 13	Sun 14	Mon 15	Tue 16	Wed 17	Thu 18	Fri 19	Sat 20		Sun 21
Men		G		G		G		G		G		¼		½			B	F
Women	G		G		G		G		G		¼		½		B	F

Qualification[]

Qualification for the Olympics were awarded based on a series of tournaments before the event between January 2015 and April 2016. Each National Olympic Committee were allowed to enter one team each for men and women. The host country was guaranteed an entry in each event, as was the winner of the 2015 World Men's Handball Championship. Four more spots were awarded to the winners of continental qualification tournaments for Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Finally, six places were awarded through three Olympic qualification tournaments. These tournaments were open to the top six teams from the World Championship that had not already qualified as well as six entrants determined through a complex continental qualification algorithm. The twelve teams were divided into three round-robin tournaments featuring four teams, with the top two teams in each tournament qualifying.^[5]^[6]

Men's qualification[]

Mean of qualification v t	Date	Host	Vacancies	Qualified
Host nation	2 October 2009	Copenhagen	1	Brazil
2015 World Championship	15 January – 1 February 2015	Qatar	1	France
2015 Pan American Games	16–25 July 2015	Toronto	1	Argentina
2015 Asian Qualification Tournament	14–27 November 2015	Doha	1	Qatar
2016 European Championship	15–31 January 2016	Poland	1	Germany
2016 African Championship	21–30 January 2016	Cairo	1	Egypt
2016 Olympic Qualification Tournaments	8–10 April 2016	Gdańsk	2	Poland
		Gdańsk	2	Tunisia
		Malmö	2	Slovenia
		Malmö	2	Sweden
		Herning	2	Denmark
		Herning	2	Croatia
Total			12

Women's qualification[]

Mean of qualification v t	Date	Host	Vacancies	Qualified
Host nation	2 October 2009	Copenhagen	1	Brazil
2014 European Championship	7–21 December 2014	Zagreb Budapest	1	Spain^[1]
2015 African Qualification Tournament	19–21 March 2015	Luanda	1	Angola
2015 Pan American Games	15–24 July 2015	Toronto	1	Argentina
2015 Asian Qualification Tournament	20–25 October 2015	Nagoya	1	South Korea
2015 World Championship	5–20 December 2015	Denmark	1	Norway
2016 Olympic Qualification Tournaments	18–20 March 2016	Metz	2	Netherlands
		Metz	2	France
		Aarhus	2	Romania
		Aarhus	2	Montenegro
		Astrakhan	2	Russia
		Astrakhan	2	Sweden
Total			12

^ 1. Norway won the European Championship, ensuring its qualification. Norway later also won the 2015 World Championship title, which took precedence in the qualification path. Therefore, the European Championship's runner-up, Spain, received the European continental tournament berth.

Summary[]

Men's competition[]

The semi-finals saw France defeat Germany by a single point, after having a three point lead at half time.^[7] The other semi-final between Poland and Denmark went to extra-time, with the scores tied at 25-25 where Denmark won the match 29-28.^[8] The bronze medal match was held between Poland and Germany. The Polish side started hotly and had a 8-5 lead, before the Germans came back and held a 17-13 lead at half-time.^[9] Germany pushed the lead to seven points after the third quarter, and eventually won the match 31-25 to win the bronze medal.^[10]^[9]

The Danish side met the French team in the final.^[11] Leading at 16-14 after the first half, Denmark retained their lead to win the match 28-26.^[10] This was Denmark's first medal in the handball event at the Olympics, having reached their best, a fourth place in 1984.^[12] Danish player Jannick Green "dreamt about one day making" the final, and the team "worked really hard and played well".^[12] The result put an end to the French period of dominance at the Olympics, having won the two prior events in 2008 and 2012.^[13] French player Luka Karabatic commented "When you’ve got a medal around your neck it’s a little bit different and you can see what you achieved as a team... Getting a silver medal is something unbelievable."^[12]^[14]

Results[]

Men's competition[]

The competition consisted of two stages; a group stage followed by a knockout stage.^[15]

Group stage[]

The teams were divided into two groups of six nations, playing every team in their group once. Two points were awarded for a victory, one for a draw. The top four teams per group qualified for the quarter-finals.

Group A[]

Pos	Team v t	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Croatia	5	4	0	1	147	134	+13	8^[a]	Quarter-finals
2	France	5	4	0	1	152	126	+26	8^[a]
3	Denmark	5	3	0	2	136	127	+9	6
4	Qatar	5	2	1	2	122	127	−5	5
5	Argentina	5	1	0	4	110	126	−16	2
6	Tunisia	5	0	1	4	118	145	−27	1

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored; 7) Draw.
Notes:

^ ^a ^b Croatia 29–28 France

Group B[]

Pos	Team v t	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Germany	5	4	0	1	153	141	+12	8^[a]	Quarter-finals
2	Slovenia	5	4	0	1	137	126	+11	8^[a]
3	Brazil (H)	5	2	1	2	141	150	−9	5
4	Poland	5	2	0	3	139	140	−1	4
5	Egypt	5	1	1	3	129	143	−14	3
6	Sweden	5	1	0	4	132	131	+1	2

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored; 7) Draw.
(H) Host
Notes:

^ ^a ^b Slovenia 25–28 Germany

Knockout stage[]

Quarter-finals		Semi-finals		Gold medal

17 August

Croatia	27
		19 August
Poland	30
		Poland	28
17 August
		Denmark (OT)	29
Denmark	37
				21 August
Slovenia	30
				Denmark	28
17 August
				France	26
Brazil	27
		19 August
France	34
		France	29
17 August
		Germany	28	Bronze medal
Germany	34
				21 August
Qatar	22
				4th Poland	25

				Germany	31

Women's competition[]

The competition consisted of two stages; a group stage followed by a knockout stage.

Group stage[]

The teams were divided into two groups of six nations, playing every team in their group once. Two points were awarded for a victory, one for a draw. The top four teams per group qualified for the quarter-finals.

Group A[]

Pos	Team v t	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Brazil (H)	5	4	1	138	117	+21	8	Quarter-finals
2	Norway	5	4	1	141	121	+20	8
3	Spain	5	3	2	125	116	+9	6
4	Angola	5	2	3	116	128	−12	4
5	Romania	5	2	3	108	119	−11	4
6	Montenegro	5	0	5	107	134	−27	0

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored; 7) Draw.
(H) Host

Group B[]

Pos	Team v t	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Russia	5	5	0	0	165	147	+18	10	Quarter-finals
2	France	5	4	0	1	118	93	+25	8
3	Sweden	5	2	1	2	150	141	+9	5
4	Netherlands	5	1	2	2	135	135	0	4
5	South Korea	5	1	1	3	130	136	−6	3
6	Argentina	5	0	0	5	101	147	−46	0

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored; 7) Draw.

Knockout stage[]

Quarter-finals		Semi-finals		Gold medal

16 August

Brazil	23
		18 August
Netherlands	32
		Netherlands	23
16 August
		France	24
Spain	26
				20 August
France (OT)	27
				France	19
16 August
				Russia	22
Sweden	20
		18 August
Norway	33
		Norway	37
16 August
		Russia (OT)	38	Bronze medal
Russia	31
				20 August
Angola	27
				Netherlands	26

				Norway	36

Medal summary[]

Medalists[]

Below is a full list of players awarded medals at the championships.^[16]^[17]

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Men details	Denmark (DEN) Niklas Landin Jacobsen Mads Christiansen Mads Mensah Larsen Casper Ulrich Mortensen Jesper Nøddesbo Jannick Green Lasse Svan Hansen Rene Toft Hansen Henrik Mollgaard Kasper Sondergaard Henrik Toft Hansen Mikkel Hansen Morten Olsen Michael Damgaard	France (FRA) Olivier Nyokas Daniel Narcisse Vincent Gérard Nikola Karabatic Kentin Mahé Mathieu Grébille Thierry Omeyer Timothey N'Guessan Luc Abalo Cedric Sorhaindo Michael Guigou Luka Karabatic Ludovic Fabregas Adrien Dipanda Valentin Porte	Germany (GER) Uwe Gensheimer Finn Lemke Patrick Wiencek Tobias Reichmann Fabian Wiede Silvio Heinevetter Hendrik Pekeler Steffen Weinhold Martin Strobel Patrick Groetzki Kai Häfner Andreas Wolff Julius Kühn Christian Dissinger Paul Drux
Women details	Russia (RUS) Anna Sedoykina Polina Kuznetsova Daria Dmitrieva Anna Sen Olga Akopyan Anna Vyakhireva Marina Sudakova Vladlena Bobrovnikova Victoria Zhilinskayte Yekaterina Marennikova Irina Bliznova Ekaterina Ilina Maya Petrova Tatyana Yerokhina Victoriya Kalinina	France (FRA) Laura Glauser Blandine Dancette Camille Ayglon Allison Pineau Laurisa Landre Grace Zaadi Marie Prouvensier Amandine Leynaud Manon Houette Siraba Dembélé Chloé Bulleux Béatrice Edwige Estelle Nze Minko Gnonsiane Niombla Alexandra Lacrabère	Norway (NOR) Kari Aalvik Grimsbø Mari Molid Emilie Hegh Arntzen Ida Alstad Veronica Kristiansen Heidi Løke Nora Mørk Stine Bredal Oftedal Marit Malm Frafjord Katrine Lunde Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth Koren Amanda Kurtović Camilla Herrem Sanna Solberg

References[]

^ "Olympic Handball". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 24 February 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Olympic Handball". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Draw for Rio 2016 Handball Tournament". ihf.info. 16 February 2016. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
^ "Results Book – Handball" (pdf). library.olympic.org. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
^ "Rio 2016 – IHF Handball Qualification System" (PDF). IHF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
^ "International Handball Federation > Draw for the 2016 Olympic Handball Tournaments staged in Rio". archive.ihf.info. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
^ "France 29-28 Germany" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
^ "Denmark 29-28 Poland ET" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 January 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
^ ^a ^b Verschueren, Gianni. "Olympic Handball 2016: Men's Team Medal Winners, Scores and Results". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 24 August 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Denmark beat France to handball gold". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
^ "Denmark 28-26 France" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 January 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c "International Handball Federation > Denmark end France's grip on Olympic title". archive.ihf.info. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
^ Ulmer, Alexandra (21 August 2016). "Handball: Delighted Denmark beat French champions to win first gold". U.S. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
^ "Great Danes surprise champions France to win men's handball gold - Olympic News". olympics.com. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
^ https://www.espn.com/olympics/summer/2016/results/_/discipline/24/event/213}}^{[bare URL]}
^ IOC. "Rio 2016 handball men Results - Olympic handball". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
^ IOC. "Rio 2016 handball women Results - Olympic handball". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.

External links[]

"Handball at the 2016 Summer Olympics (Rio2016.com)". Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2018.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Handball at the 2016 Summer Olympics at SR/Olympics
International Handball Federation
Results Book – Handball

[table_hth_CRO0.22011725707916-16] Croatia 29–28 France

[table_hth_GER0.089128662407924-17] Slovenia 25–28 Germany

[1] "Olympic Handball". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 24 February 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2016.

[rio-2] "Olympic Handball". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016.

[info-3] "Draw for Rio 2016 Handball Tournament". ihf.info. 16 February 2016. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2020.

[4] "Results Book – Handball" (pdf). library.olympic.org. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.

[5] "Rio 2016 – IHF Handball Qualification System" (PDF). IHF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2014.

[arch_Inte-6] "International Handball Federation > Draw for the 2016 Olympic Handball Tournaments staged in Rio". archive.ihf.info. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.

[7] "France 29-28 Germany" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2021.

[8] "Denmark 29-28 Poland ET" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 January 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2021.

[bronze-9] Verschueren, Gianni. "Olympic Handball 2016: Men's Team Medal Winners, Scores and Results". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 24 August 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2021.

[bbc._Denm-10] "Denmark beat France to handball gold". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2021.

[11] "Denmark 28-26 France" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 January 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2021.

[final1m-12] "International Handball Federation > Denmark end France's grip on Olympic title". archive.ihf.info. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2021.

[reut_Hand-13] Ulmer, Alexandra (21 August 2016). "Handball: Delighted Denmark beat French champions to win first gold". U.S. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2021.

[olym_Grea-14] "Great Danes surprise champions France to win men's handball gold - Olympic News". olympics.com. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.

[15] ttps://www.espn.com/olympics/summer/2016/results/_/discipline/24/event/213}}^{[bare URL]}

[18] IOC. "Rio 2016 handball men Results - Olympic handball". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.

[19] IOC. "Rio 2016 handball women Results - Olympic handball". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.

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v t Events at the 2016 Summer Olympics (Rio de Janeiro)
Archery Athletics Badminton Basketball Boxing Canoeing Cycling Diving Equestrian Fencing Field hockey Football Golf Gymnastics Handball Judo Modern pentathlon Rowing Rugby sevens Sailing Shooting Swimming Synchronized swimming Table tennis Taekwondo Tennis Triathlon Volleyball Water polo Weightlifting Wrestling
Chronological summary Medal table List of medalists