Thorir Hergeirsson: “Together, we can be a big river”

“I’ve been around this team and in this team for almost 30 years. It has been a very interesting journey, and nice,” Hergeirsson says, speaking as Norway's women laugh their way through the pre-tournament photoshoot at the Olympiahalle in Innsbruck.

But he says he wants to give new head coach Ole Gustav Gjekstad, who will take over on 1 January 2025, and his team a full run-up into their title defence at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

“Now I think it was good for me to stop, and it’s very good for Ole Gustav and my colleagues who follow him that they have this four years for preparing for the Olympics in ’28. It’s very good for me and for the team, good for the coaches and the players. I will miss them, but I want to do something else,” adds Hergeirsson.

The Icelander leaves a huge legacy for Norway. Despite several generational changes, they have consistently been able to perform at the highest level over many years. And Hergeirsson knows why.

“We have players who have been playing for a long time. This continuity for the coaching staff and the players is very important,” he says, adding that the federation has been good at supporting the women.

But the other key element, which Hergeirsson is passionate about, is teamwork.

“Teamwork is very central to how our team has been since Marit started in 1994, and we’ve built a strong team, a coaching team. I have only good coaches around me. I have no assistants; I have only coaches working with me, challenging me. They are good in things I am not so good in and vice versa,” he says.

“And in the squad, the players, we have this captain team, we have this goalkeeper teams in our big team. This is something we have done since the early 90s and is one of our success criteria. You learn a lot, working in teams. You commit and you give your knowledge to the others, and you get something back. Then you push each other and develop each other.”

Goalkeeper Katrine Lunde, who has grown up with Hergeirsson as her coach, also picks out Hergeirsson’s ability to delegate as one of his qualities.

“What’s really good with Norwegian coaches in the national team, they’re not afraid of saying ‘I’m not so good in this part, I need some input from somebody else’. They take knowledge from other people who know more and that’s a really good way to get that,” explains Lunde.

“It's based on trust. This is one of my most important things to do as a head coach: keep everyone staying on their toes and develop, myself included. You have to make development all the time, otherwise what you did yesterday is not good enough tomorrow in top sport,” Hergeirsson adds.

“We involve the players very much, much more than many other teams. They are smart, they play handball every day. They play against the best in the leagues, in the Champions League, and they have a lot of knowledge. My role is to get all this knowledge together and use it.”

That trust is reflected in what Hergeirsson’s players say about him.

“He’s a great leader, first and foremost. He has a very special ability to bring us close together and to work as a team, and to ground us before every championship and tournament.

“Despite all the successes we have had we always start from scratch and are very humble, and we work hard and we think every game each step at a time. And that’s because of Thorir and the culture that he’s made in this team,” says line player Maren Aardahl.

Hergeirsson has watched handball change significantly over the years. Some changes he approves of; others, less so.

“The fast throw-off was very important, it changed very much for good,” he says. “The seven against six rule I think doesn’t change to the good, but it has come to be. You have to cope with it.

“I’m not sure that this seven against six has been so interesting for the spectators as the normal handball with the fast play. It’s not nice to see someone throw the ball over the empty goal. But it’s tactical equipment, important, and you have to adapt to it.”

Changing physicality has also played its role, says Hergeirsson.

“When I was playing young and junior, the best teams in the world in men’s handball, they were all two metres (tall). Now it’s much faster, much more technical, and the tactical players developed a lot.

“Now the backcourt players can play every position, no matter if they’re left-handed, right-handed, if they’re on the left side, right side, middle. This flexibility has changed a lot and I like that.”

Lunde credits Hergeirsson with some of that change for women’s handball, enabling a wider range of players to stay in the sport by pushing for Norway to support mothers.

“It’s really nice to see the age of the team is getting higher. You know you can get pregnant and then you can come back again, because this is what we love. Just because you have a child, it should not be the end of your career if you don’t want,” she points out.

Now, at the end of his career, Hergeirsson is reflecting on his achievements. Asked what he considers to be his proudest moment he is swift to respond.

“I used to say that the next one is always the most interesting, but of course it’s the Olympic Games in ’12 in London, and the Olympics now, this summer,” he says.

“There is something special, something magic about the Olympic Games. When we won in London in ’12 we were struggling all the way, but we won. At least in Paris and Lille we played very well, we lost the first game but after that we played very very well. There were two different ways to Olympic gold in 2012 and 2024, but these two palmarès I think I will put on the top.”

Hergeirsson is cagy about what is next for him, saying he is focusing on the Women’s EHF EURO for the immediate future. Another gold medal in Vienna in December would be a fitting end to his coaching career, but it is clear that his personal achievements are not at the top of his mind.

“I hope that when I leave this team they remember that the national team lives, I hope, for many hundred years, but the people, we get the opportunity to be part of this team for a certain period.

“We come into the team for a time, to bring our best in, but the team will live. That’s why the team is always the most important. I’m just one little tiny drop, and the goalkeepers are, and the physiotherapists are, but together we can be a big river.”

Photos © Kolektiff Images