Norway shows off that it is still one of the top female handball teams in the world by winning its fifth European title over the past six championships and qualifying to the Olympics. The 2014 Women’s Handball European Championship was held from December 7th to December 21st 2014 and it marked the final Olympic qualification event of 2014.
Norway reached the finals losing only one match, to Hungary in the final second group stage match where they had already assured top place of the group and a berth to the semifinals. In the finals Norway met Spain where Spain took the lead and finished the half with a lead of 12-10. In the second half Norway was able to take the lead and extend the margin to four before Spain recovered and brought the lead deficit down to 1 when Linn-Kristin Koren scored two late goals to give Norway the 28-25 win. Norwegians voted to the all-star team included goalkeeper Silje Solberg, right back Nora Mork and pivot Heidi Loke.
In the event that Norway also wins the 2015 Women’s Handball World Championships the world championships take priority despite happening later and thus Spain will be considered the European qualifier so that Norway would be the world qualifier. Also depending on who wins and the full ranking at the world championships one or two top ranked nations here will also qualify to one of the final Olympic tournaments.
References
- EHF. 2014 Hungary-Croatia Women Handball. Access on March 1 2015.
Road to the Olympics 