N/A
Recording artist Pink offered to pay the fines of Norway's women's beach handball team after the players took issue with their required uniform at a recent tournament.
The European Handball Federation said it fined the team €1,500 for wearing "shorts that are not according to the Athlete Uniform Regulations defined in the IHF Beach Handball Rules of the Game."
Pink applauded the players "FOR PROTESTING THE VERY SEXIST RULES" regarding uniforms:
The International Handball Federation requires that women's players wear bikini bottoms "with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg." The side of the bottoms can be no more than 10 centimeters as well. The men, on the other hand, are expected to wear shorts.
Norway's women's team opted to don shorts in contravention of the rules while playing Spain for the bronze medal in the European championships.
"It was very spontaneous," said Norwegian handball player Katinka Haltvik to local broadcaster NRK (via Caroline Radnofsky of NBC News). "We thought, 'Let's just do it now, and then see what happens."
Norwegian Handball Federation President Kare Geir Lio told Radnofsky the players initially wanted to wear the shorts to begin the tournament but were cautioned by the EHA it could result in a fine or outright disqualification. Lio added the players had the national federation's full support for the protest during the bronze-medal games.
Writing for NBC News, Britni de la Cretaz argued this situation was part of a larger issue regarding the uniform requirements for male and female athletes.
"Women in sports are often put in a no-win situation, at times being told that while competing they have to wear revealing uniforms that feminize and sexualize their appearance by appealing to the male gaze, while at other times being chastised for their clothing being too revealing, a policing of the morality of women," de la Cretaz wrote.
She also explained how more revealing uniforms on female athletes have been used as a means for others to demean women's sports as a whole.
The Norwegian women's handball team was fined $1,700 for “improper clothing" after choosing to wear shorts rather than bikini bottoms at the Euro 2021 tournament.
Norway had petitioned the European Handball Association to wear shorts rather than bikinis before the event, but the team was threatened with disqualification and/or fines. The team then chose to protest during its bronze medal match against Spain.
"It was very spontaneous. We thought, 'Let's just do it now, and then see what happens,'" player Katinka Haltvik told Norwegian broadcaster NRK, per Caroline Radnofsky of NBC News.
International handball rules require women wear bikini bottoms “with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg." The side width can be no more than four inches.
By contrast, men are allowed to wear athletic shorts, provided they are at least four inches above the knee.
"It's not [appropriate clothing for] the activity when they are playing in the sand," Norwegian Handball Federation President Kare Geir Lio told NBC News.
Lio said the women have the federation's "full support."
Russia reached the women's handball championship game at the 2016 Summer Olympics as the only team to navigate the entire event without a loss. Only France stood in its way of a perfect tournament and a gold medal after getting knocked out in the quarterfinals four years ago.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands and Norway each looked to bounce back from disappointing semifinal losses to earn a spot on the podium in the bronze-medal match. It was more of a mental battle than a physical one after both sides suffered crushing one-goal defeats in the penultimate round.
Let's check out all of the important details from Saturday's medal round, which will get updated following the conclusion of the title game. That's followed by a recap of the action.
| Medal | Matchup | Result/Time (ET) |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze | Netherlands vs. Norway | 36-26 NOR |
| Gold | France vs. Russia | 22-19 RUS |
Norway came out firing on all cylinders to build an early 9-2 lead in the first half and never looked back en route to a comfortable 36-26 victory to secure the bronze medal.
Nora Mork paced the Norwegians with seven goals in the contest. Stine Bredal Oftedal and Amanda Kurtovic each added six apiece. As a team, Norway converted on 69 percent of its shot attempts compared to 53 percent for the Netherlands.
The International Handball Federation noted there was at least one high-profile onlooker from Norway in attendance to watch the victory, too:
The Netherlands got back within five goals at a couple different points during the second half but could never close the gap any further.
Nycke Groot led the Dutch side with six goals but struggled with efficiency as it took 13 shots to find the net that many times. By comparison, Laura van der Heijden tallied five on seven shots and Yvette Broch scored four and five shots.
Although Norway won't be pleased it wasn't able to defend the title after capturing gold in both 2008 and 2012, it bounced back nicely Saturday to ensure it still earned a medal.
France put up a fight throughout the final, including twice cutting the lead to two in the game's final minutes, but the Russian squad was simply too good in the end as it completed an unbeaten run through the tournament to win the gold medal.
Olga Akopian played the role of hero for Russia in the latter stages of the match. She came up with a pair of clutch goals late as the French side tried to mount a late comeback in order to maintain the lead, which had grew to as large as four in the second half.
It was rarely easy for the champions throughout the tournament—only one win came by more than five goals—but they consistently found a way to win. That held true again on Sunday.
The Russian Olympic Committee spotlighted the celebration:
Anna Vyakhireva led the way with five goals. Daria Dmitrieva added four as did Polina Kuznetsova, who scored on all four of her attempts for a perfect day from the field.
Allison Pineau and Siraba Dembele each found the net five times for France. They both needed 10 shots to make it happen, however. A more efficient outing and perhaps they pull off an upset.
All told, in a tournament where close games were the name of the game, Russia played those big moments better than anybody else. Now it has a gold medal to show for it.
