Iceland Archives - France Handball 2017

Iceland

PHOTO-EQUIPE-islande

AN EXTRAORDINARY RATIO

An incredible concentration of talent. Olympic silver medallists in 2008 and bronze medallists at the Euro in 2010, Iceland has made a big splash on the world stage, especially with the introduction of its star, Olafur Stefansson. It has a robust team, supported by an entire nation, whilst being led by outstanding technical experts who have formed a formidable Icelandic school of coaches. Gudmundur Gudmundsson led the national team during the good times and now plies his trade with the Danish men’s team. And let’s not forget the two most popular coaches of the day: Dagur Sigurdsson, voted 2015 Mens’ Coach of the Year, led the German team to the European title in Poland (2016). Thorir Hergeirsson, 2015 Women’s Coach of the Year, is an Olympic World and European Champion with the women’s Norwegian team. Today, Geir Sveinsson has the task of reviving the national team, which has twice recently fallen short of expectations: only 11th place in the 2015 World Championships and 13th in the 2016 Euro Championship.

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DID YOU KNOW?

With 329,000 inhabitants, the equivalent of the population of Corsica, and about 6,000 graduates, Iceland is the Tom Thumb of the international scene. Despite this, the country performs miracles in sports: not only in handball, but also in football, as proved during its remarkable run in the Euro 2016 in France.

COACH: Geir SVEINSSON (Iceland)