The Norwegian team repeated the triumph achieved in the preliminary phase of the tournament, in which they finished first in Group A, with victories against Denmark (27-18), Germany (30-18), Slovenia (29-22) and South Korea (26-20) and a defeat against Sweden (28-32).
Olympic champions in London 2012 and Beijing 2008, ‘runners-up’ in Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992 and bronze in Tokyo 2020, Rio 2016 and Sydney 2000, Norway will try on Saturday to reach the gold that ‘escaped’ in the last two editions to France and Russia. Denmark and Sweden will play for the bronze.
Norway, the world runner-up and European champion, in a final played precisely against Denmark (27-25), reached the semi-finals in Paris2024 with an easy victory in the quarter-finals against Brazil and finally showed its worth against Denmark.
The first half of the Nordic semi-final clash was evenly matched until 8-8, with the defences prevailing over the attacking actions, when Norway, with a 3-0 run, opened up a three-goal lead at half-time (11-8).
With goalkeeper Katrine Lunde in the spotlight, Norway increased the advantage to six goals at 15-9, with a 4-1 run in 10 minutes, and took advantage of some errors by the Danish team to increase it to seven at 20-13.
Controlling the advantage, especially because the Danish team's seven-on-six system was not working, Norway closed the game at 25-21, sealing their place in the final against Olympic champions France.
Denmark, the European runner-up and bronze medallist at the 2023 World Cup, was once again left out of the running for the gold medal it won in Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004, and will now face Sweden for the bronze medal.
The Danish and Swedish teams will be playing a repeat of their preliminary round encounter, in which both teams finished with four wins and one loss in Group A. At the time, Denmark won 25-23.
Champions France were forced to come back from a four-goal deficit to beat Sweden 31-28 in extra time and reach their third consecutive Olympic final in Paris 2024.
The French national team won the gold medal at Tokyo 2020, beating a team representing the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) 30-25, after winning the silver medal at Rio 2016, in the final lost to Russia 22-19.
Sweden, fourth in Tokyo 2020 and in the 2023 World Cup – which was won by France – were looking to reach their first Olympic final, something they were 14 seconds away from achieving, were it not for a goal by Frenchwoman Tamara Horacek, who tied the game at 25-25 and forced extra time.
The Nordic team started the game well, taking a three-goal lead at 7-4, with a 5-0 run, but the French responded immediately with three consecutive goals to tie the game at 7-7.
Sweden, who were leading 12-10 at half-time, opened up a four-goal lead in the second half, at 20-16, which the French, spurred on by their home crowd, reduced to 25-25 in the final seconds of regulation time.
In extra time, France were superior, going from a 26-26 tie to a four-goal lead at 30-26, with a 4-0 run that allowed them to win 31-28 and secure their place in the final, to defend their Olympic title.
Tamara Horacek, with eight goals, and Estelle Nze Minko, with seven, were the top scorers for the French team, while Nathalie Hagman was outstanding for Sweden, scoring six.
France, which defeated Germany in the quarter-finals, finished Group B undefeated, with wins against Hungary (31-28), the Netherlands (32-28), Brazil (26-20), Angola (38-34) and Spain (32-24).
Sweden, which defeated Hungary in the quarter-finals (36-32), finished second in Group A, with wins against Norway (32-28), Germany (31-28), South Korea (27-21) and Slovenia (27-23) and a defeat against Denmark (23-25).
