The Denmark women's national handball team is the national team of Denmark. It is governed by the Danish Handball Federation (DHF).
In 1997, it became the first Women's Handball team to hold all three major titles simultaneously (The World Championship, The Olympic Championship and The European Championship).International Handball Federation
Denmark women's handball team is the only team (women's and men's) in handball history to win the Olympic Games three consecutive times, earning the gold medal in 1996, 2000, and 2004.
Despite tremendous results, the Danish handball team has seen a steady decline. As of 2026, the team has not won a gold medal since the Olympic Games 2004. However, at the World Championship 2013, the team won its first medal (bronze) at a World Championship since 1997 when the team won gold. It was also the first medal the Danish team had won in 9 years.
Since 2021, the team has won medals at five championships in a row: Bronze at the 2021 World Championship, silver at the 2022 European Championship, bronze at the 2023 World Championship, bronze at 2024 Summer Olympics and silver at the 2024 European Championship. At the 2025 World Championship, Denmark was knocked out in the quarter final, marking the first time since 2021 that Denmark left a major international tournament without any medals.
Honours Competition TotalOlympic Games3 0 1 4World Championship1 2 4 7European Championship3 4 0 7 Total 7 6 5 18
Competitive record Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
Olympic Games GamesPosition 1976 MontrealDid not qualify 1980 Moscow 1984 Los Angeles 1988 Seoul 1992 Barcelona 1996 Atlanta1st5500149114+35 2000 Sydney1st7601214165+49 2004 Athens1st7520224182+42 2008 BeijingDid not qualify 2012 London9th5104113121−8 2016 Rio de JaneiroDid not qualify 2020 Tokyo 2024 Paris3rd8602206191+15 2028 Los AngelesTBDTotal5/14322327906773+133
World Championship YearPosition± 19575th53113726+11 19622nd54014228+14 19655th42023136−5 19716th52125054−4 19737th52215747+10 19759th51046269−7 1978Did not qualify 1982 1986 199010th7205145137+8 19932nd7502189167+22 19953rd8602221178+43 19971st9711281202+79 19996th9702263186+77 20014th9702258210+48 200313th5212113119−6 20054th10514295277+18 2007Did not qualify 20095th9603250230+20 20114th9702240175+65 20133rd9603255214+41 20156th9504239208+31 20176th7403186163+23 20199th8422204172+32 20213rd9801281182+99 20233rd9702280212+68 20255th7601240181+59 2027TBD 2029 2031Total23/2816210295139793292+687
European Championship YearPosition± 1994 1st 7 7 0 0 186 151 +35 19961st 7 7 0 0 197 146 +51 19982nd 7 5 0 2 189 163 +26 200010th 6 11 4 151 159 −8 20021st 8 8 0 0200 171 +29 20042nd 8 6 02 202 189 +13 200611th 6 2 0 4 148156 −8 200811th 6 2 1 3 145 160−15 20104th 8 5 0 3 192 175+17 20125th 7 5 0 2 217206 +11 20148th 6 3 1 2 155 147+8 20164th 8 4 1 3 189 185+4 20188th 6 3 0 3 151 164−13 20204th 8 5 0 3 209 186+23 20222nd 8 6 0 2 223 195+28 20242nd 9 7 0 2 266 234+32 2026Qualified 2028Qualified as co-host 2030To be determined 2032Qualified as co-hostTotal1157643530202787+233
Performance in other tournaments Carpathian Trophy 1980 – Fifth place Carpathian Trophy 1997 – Winner GF World Cup '06 – Third place GF World Cup '08 – Second place Møbelringen Cup 2002 – Winner Møbelringen Cup 2003 – Third place Møbelringen Cup 2005 – Winner Møbelringen Cup 2007 – Third place Møbelringen Cup 2008 – Third place Møbelringen Cup 2010 – Second place Møbelringen Cup 2012 – Second place Møbelringen Cup 2014 – Winner Møbelringen Cup 2016 – Second place Møbelringen Cup 2018 – Third place Intersport Cup 2022 – Second place Golden League 2012-13 – Winner Golden League 2014-15 – Winner Golden League 2016-17 – Third place
Team
Current squad The squad chosen for Golden League in Octobber 2026.
Head coach: Helle Thomsen
Caps and goals as of 27 September 2026.
Extended squad / recent call-ups
Previous squads
Notable players Several Danish players have seen their individual performance recognized at international tournaments, either as Most Valuable Player or as a member of the All-Star Team. MVP Anja Andersen, 1996 European Championship Karin Mortensen, 2002 European Championship Anna Kristensen, 2024 European Championship All-Star Team Anette Hoffmann, 1995 World Championship; 2000 Summer Olympics Anja Andersen, 1996 Summer Olympics Susanne Munk Wilbek, 1996 Summer Olympics; 1997 World Championship Camilla Andersen, 1997 World Championship; 1998 European Championship Tonje Kjærgaard, 1998 European Championship; 1999 World Championship Janne Kolling, 1998 European Championship; 2000 Summer Olympics Mette Vestergaard, 2001 World Championship Kristine Andersen, 2002 European Championship Line Daugaard, 2002 European Championship; 2004 Summer Olympics Karin Mortensen, 2002 and 2004 European Championship Rikke Schmidt, 2004 Summer Olympics Katrine Fruelund, 2004 Summer Olympics Josephine Touray, 2004 European Championship Mie Augustesen, 2010 European Championship Maibritt Kviesgaard, 2010 European Championship Line Jørgensen, 2011 World Championship Maria Fisker, 2013 World Championship; 2014 European Championship Kristina Kristiansen, 2014 European Championship Sandra Toft, 2016 and 2020 European Championship, 2021 World Championship Line Haugsted, 2020 European Championship Emma Friis, 2022 European Championship, 2024 Summer Olympics, 2024 European Championship Kathrine Heindahl, 2022 European Championship Louise Burgaard, 2023 World Championship Anna Kristensen, 2024 European Championship Incomplete
Coaching staff Role Name Start date Head coach Helle Thomsen July 2025 Assistant coach Bojana Popović September 2025 Team manager Tina Bøttzau March 2024 Goalkeeping coach Michael Bruun Unknown Physiotherapist Mikkel Hjuler February 2016 Video man Sten Kaj Larsen March 2020 Body SDS Erling Andersen Unknown
Coaches List of coaches for Denmark women's national handball team YearsName1946–1958Knud Knudsen1959–1963Jørgen Absalonsen1963–1965Else Birkmose1965–1968Knud Knudsen1969–1976Hans Erik Nielsen1976–1980Allan Lund1980–1981Jørgen Andersson1982–1985Flemming Skovsen1986–1990Ole Eliasen1991–1998Ulrik Wilbek1998–2006Jan Pytlick2006–2007Brian Lyngholm2007–2014Jan Pytlick2014–2015Heine Eriksen2015–2020Klavs Bruun Jørgensen2020–2025Jesper Jensen2025–Helle Thomsen
Individual records
Most matches played Total number of matches played in official competitions only. # Player Matches Goals 1 Janne Kolling 250 7562 Karin Mortensen 233 43 Lene Rantala 230 04 Trine Østergaard 222 4675 Anne Mette Hansen 207 6036 Sandra Toft 197 27 Camilla Andersen 194 8468 Katrine Fruelund 184 5709 Anette Hoffmann 183 641 Louise Burgaard 379 Last updated: 27 September 2026
Most goals scored Total number of goals scored in official matches only. # Player Goals Matches Average1 Camilla Andersen 846 194 4.362 Janne Kolling 756 250 3.023 Anja Andersen 725 133 5.454 Anette Hoffmann 641 183 3.505 Anne Mette Hansen 603 207 2.916 Katrine Fruelund 570 184 3.107 Ann Grete Nørgaard 549 139 3.958 Mette Vestergaard Larsen 519 181 2.879 Stine Jørgensen 493 149 3.3110 Kristina Jørgensen 476 155 3.07 Last updated: 27 September 2026
References
External links
IHF profile