Handball
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Olympic history (pre London 2012)
Handball is a fast-paced team sport. It was originally played on a football field with eleven players a side. It was contested by men in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games and Germany claimed the first gold medal. Handball then disappeared from the Olympic Games program after World War II and its popularity began to diminish.
Across Europe the harsher climate, particularly in Scandinavia, led to a seven-a-side indoor handball format. Handball returned to the Olympic Games program in this form in Munich in 1972 for men only. Four years later in Montreal, a women’s competition was pioneered. Both events have remained on the Olympic program ever since.
Summary of past Australian Olympic team results
- Australia’s men’s and women’s teams competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games by virtue of Australia being host nation.
- Australian senior teams are yet to qualify for the Olympic handball competition at an away Games, however, they have regularly participated in World Championships as the Oceania champions.
- Australia’s women’s youth team participated in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games held in Singapore in 2010.
Sporting organisation
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| Australian Handball Federation |
