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Olympics men’s handball results: Denmark wins gold, France silver

By Cody Williams

Aug 21, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Denmark defeats France in the gold medal match during the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Future Arena. Mandatory Credit: Andrew P. Scott
Aug 21, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Denmark defeats France in the gold medal match during the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Future Arena. Mandatory Credit: Andrew P. Scott /
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Results from the bronze and gold medal matches at the 2016 Rio Olympics men’s handball tournament

One of the most closely contested and thrilling competitions from the 2016 Rio Olympics to date has to be the men’s handball tournament. From the preliminary rounds all the way through the knockout rounds, it had everything sports fans could ever ask for. There were major upsets, major disappointments, last-second finishes and much more. Subsequently, the bronze and gold medal matches on Sunday, August 21 became must-watch from Rio 2016.

In the bronze medal match to start the day, Poland took on Germany in a highly anticipated contest. Germany was dominant in the group stage, but fell to France in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Poland was the Cinderella coming into the semifinals before being ousted by Denmark. However, they both returned to proper form on Sunday with the bronze medal on the line. The Germans opened up an early four-goal lead and simply stuck their arm out on the forehead of the Poles to never let them any closer. Tobias Reichmann and company then simply ran to the final whistle with the 31-25 victory to win the bronze.

Later in the gold medal match, Denmark looked to finally get Mikkel Hansen—widely considered the best handball player in the world—his gold medal at the Olympics in a match against France. This matchup lived up to everything a gold medal match should be. There was physicality, a rollercoaster of performance and emotion for both teams, and plenty of lead changes. In the second half, though, Denmark was able to eek out the smallest of leads. Though it wasn’t much, Hansen’s eight goals in the final were enough to push Denmark to victory. France obviously picked up silver while the Danes celebrated the gold.

Next: 50 greatest Summer Olympians in history.

Thus ends an absolutely riveting 2016 Olympics men’s handball tournament. Quite a fitting end for the best player in the sport to finally be atop the podium with his country.

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