WC-Team	Official WC-Website	WC-Team

	Final Standings
	Russia
	Norway
	Yugoslavia
4	Denmark

Results
Results

Norwegian and Danish Teams
Profiles (TV3/Norway)
Presentasjon (Danish TV2)

WC in the media
BT Online
Ekstrabladet
Nettavisen
TV2 Denmark
TV2 Norway
TV3/VG

Video clips
Kjersti Grini after the finals Video (VG 17.12.01)
Marit Breivik after the finals Video (VG 16.12.01)
Marit Breivik after the quarter finals Video (VG 15.12.01)
Marit Breivik's message Video (VG 14.12.01)
Marianne Rokne good against Sør-Korea Video (VG 11.12.01)
Cecilie Leganger about the Slovenia match Video (VG 09.12.01)
Kjersti Grini Video (VG)
Rikke Hørlykke Video (Dansk TV2 09.12.01)
The victory against France Video (Dansk TV2 06.12.01)
The victory against Macedonia Video (Dansk TV2 05.12.01)
Lene Rantala Video (Dansk TV2 05.12.01)
A perfect Danish start Video (Dansk TV2 04.12.01)
Visiting the player's hotell Video (Dansk TV2 04.12.01)
Jan Pytlick about Lotte Kiærshou Video (Dansk TV2 01.12.01)
Lotte Kiærskou Video (Dansk TV2 01.12.01)
Christina Roslyng Video (Dansk TV2 01.12.01)
Jan Pytlick about the referees Video (Dansk TV2 01.12.01)
Jan Pytlick before WC 2001 Video (Dansk TV2 01.12.01)

Special Player Profiles

Cecilie Leganger Norway All-star team	Mette Vestergaard Denmark All-star team	Austra Fridrikas Austria Top scorer	Josephine Touray Denmark Bright new star	Kjersti Grini Norway 1000-record

Eva's handball site about Norway
Norway was the defending champion and one of several favourites to win the gold. Some months after the European Championships the optimism increased in Norway, because several players who were on 2000 Olympic had returned for duty. The most significant among the returning players was goalkeeper Cecilie Leganger. The team captain Kjersti Grini had also recovered from an injury that prevented her from participating in the EC. As well, talented and experienced players Janne Tuven and Mette Davidsen rejoined the team after recovering from knee injuries that had kept them out of both the 2000 Olympics and EC. In addition to the having the experienced talent back, newer talents also had the chance to gain more experience. Another useful factor was the time Norway had to work together, building a cohesive unit; time they didn't have before the EC. On paper it looked like Norway would have it's strongest team ever, but it was not to be.

A month before the start of the WC the problems started. Leganger was coming back to the team as promised, but not without baggage. The nightmare know as the "Leganger case" had begun, and it threatened to hamper her preparations for the WC and potentially even destroy her career. This did not bode well for the team, on top of the problems it created for Leganger, it was also a serious distraction for the team. Fortunately, both sides came to an agreement, so that preparations for the WC could still go ahead in plenty of time. The next obstacle was the fact that several players who were expected to return to the team, didn't. There were contradicting messages coming from Heidi Tjugum, although eventually she agreed to be a reserve player, staying at home, in case something happened to Leganger during the tournament. Tonje Larsen, who'd been struggling for a long time with a condition known as "jumper's knee", had to stay home this time. In earlier international tournaments, she had been utilized mostly on defense, since she was one of Norway's strongest defenders in recent years. After the Olympics, Mia Hundvin had gone indefinite sabbatical, and all Norwegian handball supporters were happy went she rediscovered her desire to rejoin her national teammates. But this too was not to be, as her school schedule conflicted with that of the WC, preventing from playing this year. In Hundvin, Norway lost an exceptional left winger and powerful counter-attacker. If all this wasn't enough, the injury problems grew. Birgitte Settæm, who had begun to shine for the Norwegian team at the previous WC, couldn't handle the work of a tournament due to injury. With the veteran Susann Goksør Bjerkrheim no longer in the position of playmaker, this could've been Davidsen's big chance to step out of Goksør Bjerkrheim's shadow and step into the pivotal role of playmaker on a more full-time basis. But shortly after her comeback, it was apparent that Davidsen's knee wouldn't carry her, forcing her to take a longer break from handball, so the search for a new playmaker was on. Davidsen's club team Tertnes had solved its playmaker problem with Kari-Anne Henriksen, a player without any international experience. She blossomed with Tertnes and in turn, brought this success to the national team in a pre-WC tournament. Unfortunately, Henriksen was also sidelined by a knee injury, leaving Norway without a true playmaker for the WC. The new generation of hopefuls was also struck by injuries. Back player Karoline Dayhre Breivang, who had a remarkable debut at EC 2000, was injured in the months leading up to the WC. During the EC 2000 Norway had started to fill the empty spaces left by the mass of retiring veterans following the Olympics a couple months earlier. National team coach Marit Breivik seemed to have found the missing pieces required to make a successful team for the WC, but all the difficulties in the last few months forced her to find still more replacements at the last minute, many of them completely lacking in international experience. All these factors lowered the previously growing expectation that Norway might have a real chance at a WC medal.

When the championship started, many observers suggested that Norway had been placed in the easiest draw. Norway won all their games in the opening round very easily, and it began to seem that the easy draw might actually be a disadvantage. A more serious challenge would have given them much needed experinece for the playoff round. Already in the group play it was obvious that team was very different from the team that had gone to the previous Olympics. On one hand, it appeared that the strong defence, that had been the trademark of previous Norwegian teams, was gone, putting much more weight on the shoulders of Norway's star goalkeeper Cecilie Leganger. It didn't help that Leganger had to play almost every minute of every game. On the other hand, they a new offensive game, showing even more creativity than they had in the Olympics. Another bright spot was that some of the less experienced players stepped forward, taking responsibility and helping the veterans contribute to the team's success.

Maybe it's more accurate to say that Norway won the silver, rather than that they lost the gold. After the easy time in the early round, the games got much tougher in the playoff round. Here Norway had to get through three major obstacles to get a shot at the gold. After getting winning against a tough South Korean team, Norway met France in the quarter-finals. Denmark had been beaten France by just one goal in the earlier round, and at the previous WC, it took two overtimes for Norway to steal the gold medal from France. This time around Norway, once again, found the strength to overcome France and showed that a gold medal wasn't an unrealistic possibility. In the semi-finals, Yugoslavia stood in Norway's path to the gold. Yugoslavia had done well in the tournament up to that point, and within minutes, the Norwegians were down six goals, but they just refused to lose. The Yugoslavian team played very rough, giving the Norwegians some real bumps and bruises, but also giving themselves some penalties. With their minds focussed on the gold medal, Norway slowly regained ground and tied the match, taking it into overtime. Halfway through overtime, Norway was down one goal, but Leganger stepped up for her team, made some crucial saves and allowed her team to fight back, as she had done in the previous match against France. Monika Sandve got the honour of scoring the overtime winner. Norway had to toil their way into the final, and it was the incredible team spirit and physical fitness that got them through. In the finals against Russia, Norway was once again down quickly by six goals. The Norwegians were able to improve in the second half, getting close, but in the end, Russia won a decisive victory. The tall, robust Russians had a tight defence, and several very skilled players. The Norwegian defence just wasn't good enough to fight off the opponent this time.

Before going into detail about individual players, it's important to look at the team as a whole first. It's incredible that such a team could be made out of so many players without experience, in such a short period of time. The fighting spirit and the ability to struggle until the very end was impressive. Cecilie Leganger was named to the all-star for the 6th time, it's almost a Christmas tradition. Her save percentage is normally quite high, and as was the case again, but what really impressed was her ability to make great saves at crucial times. Without Tjugum to share the workload, this time she had to work harder than usual. She also didn't have the strong Norwegian defence in front of her as in past championships. Taking into account everything she had to deal with leading up to the WC, one can't help but be awed by her performance. Kjersti Grini didn't make the all-star team, but many would agree that she belonged there. During the championship she reached the milestone of 1000 goals for the national team, a remarkable record. She also has the highest goals per game average in the history of the national team. During this tournament, she was Norway's biggest scorer, overall and in the finals. Marianne Rokne stood out as a big shooter, as her performance in Tertnes suggested she would be and was among the nominees for the all-star team. Norway also shone at the line, with Else-Marthe Sørlie and Elisabeth Hilmo. It's difficult praise one rookie over another so--no one mentioned, no one forgotten.

The silver medal was a giant step forward from the 6th place finish at the previous EC and the future looks bright for the national team, especially since so many quality players were sitting at home during this championship. Norway should be very satisfied with silver, this time, but the lesson that should be learned: their defence just isn't good enough to win gold.

Eva's handball site about Denmark
Denmark had a troubling WC in 1999 when they didn't manage to get to the semi-finals, but a with a fresh Olympic gold in hand, they still much to defend. Like Norway, Denmark had a generational overhaul following the Olympics, but they weren't hobbled by so many injuries following the 2000 EC. The Danes also had completely internationally inexeperienced rookies, however they did still have a good number of returning veterans and experienced players, such as, Katrine Fruelund and Kristine Andersen. The Danish goal was simply make the semi-finals and then take it as it came.

Denmark also had little problem making their way through to the playoff round. They won all their matches, although they had some tougher opponents than Norway, so their margin of victory was often smaller. They made the semi-finals after beating Austria by just one goal, after this, Russia stood in their way. Up to this point, you could still see the traditional Danish speed, use of the wings and good shooters, but a problem was starting to show. Unlike Norway, Denmark's defensive game hadn't faltered so much, but when things got rough, the fighting spirit wasn't as strong as it was for the Norwegians. The lack of experienced team leaders from previous national teams seemed to be a bigger problem for Denmark. In the semi-finals against Russia, they squandered a big lead, nearly collapsing in the final 15 minutes of the game. The players just looked tired. They started making mistakes and lacked creativity. One also had to wonder why Kristine Andersen remained on the bench, especially once the problems began. With that in mind, one had to fear that Denmark would be trounced by Yugoslavia in the bronze-medal final, the team that had played so rough and tough against Norway. But what we feared, wasn't what happened. Denmark made several smart adjustments for this match, putting in some fresh players, looking like a team that was determined to win the bronze. Denmark was once again able to build a solid lead, but in the end, it happened again. Yugoslavia tied it up, sending the match into overtime. The Danish girls fought bravely, but eventually had to concede the bronze medal in overtime. The fighting spirit showed by the Danes was completely different this time around.

Of the individual players, it's hard not to mention team captain Mette Vestegaard, who deservedly was named to the all-star team (right back). Kristine Andersen made a nice comeback on the national team, and was at times, the best player for the Danes. In some of the matches Lotte Kiærskou came up big for her team and of the newcomers, one must mention Josephine Touray, who, with her elegance and charm, made people sit up and take notice. Touray was great in the match that propelled Denmark into the quarter-finals. Slagelse's Mette Melgaard also was a complete rookie in international competition, but did an steady and solid job on the line and on defence.

For Denmark, a fourth place finish at the WC was a huge improvement over its tenth-place finish in the last EC. But the like the Norwegians, the Danes also had an important lesson to learn. The team was just not physically fit enough to make it through a tough tournament. The collapse in the semi-finals just should not have happened.