# Handball at the Summer Olympics

Handball at the Summer Olympics refers to two different sports. Field handball was introduced for men at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, but dropped after that. At the 1952 Olympics, field handball was a demonstration sport. (Indoor) handball was introduced for men at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Women's handball competition was introduced at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.

## Men's tournaments
### Summary

| Year | Host | Gold medal match | Gold medal match | Gold medal match | Bronze medal match | Bronze medal match | Bronze medal match | Teams |
| Year | Host | Gold medalists | Score | Silver medalists | Bronze medalists | Score | 4th-place finishers | Teams |
| 1936 Details | Berlin | Germany | Round robin | Austria | Switzerland | Round robin | Hungary | 6 |
| 1972 Details | Munich | Yugoslavia | 21–16 | Czechoslovakia | Romania | 19–16 | East Germany | 16 |
| 1976 Details | Montreal | Soviet Union | 19–15 | Romania | Poland | 21–18 | West Germany | 12 |
| 1980 Details | Moscow | East Germany | 23–22 (ET) | Soviet Union | Romania | 20–18 | Hungary | 12 |
| 1984 Details | Los Angeles | Yugoslavia | 18–17 | West Germany | Romania | 23–19 | Denmark | 12 |
| 1988 Details | Seoul | Soviet Union | 32–25 | South Korea | Yugoslavia | 27–23 | Hungary | 12 |
| 1992 Details | Barcelona | Unified Team | 22–20 | Sweden | France | 24–20 | Iceland | 12 |
| 1996 Details | Atlanta | Croatia | 27–26 | Sweden | Spain | 27–25 | France | 12 |
| 2000 Details | Sydney | Russia | 28–26 | Sweden | Spain | 26–22 | Yugoslavia | 12 |
| 2004 Details | Athens | Croatia | 26–24 | Germany | Russia | 28–26 | Hungary | 12 |
| 2008 Details | Beijing | France | 28–23 | Iceland | Spain | 35–29 | Croatia | 12 |
| 2012 Details | London | France | 22–21 | Sweden | Croatia | 33–26 | Hungary | 12 |
| 2016 Details | Rio de Janeiro | Denmark | 28–26 | France | Germany | 31–25 | Poland | 12 |
| 2020 Details | Tokyo | France | 25–23 | Denmark | Spain | 33–31 | Egypt | 12 |
| 2024 Details | Paris | Denmark | 39–26 | Germany | Spain | 23–22 | Slovenia | 12 |
| 2028 Details | Los Angeles | | | | | | | 12 |
| 2032 Details | Brisbane | | | | | | | 12 |

### Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | France (FRA) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 2 | Denmark (DEN) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | Soviet Union (URS) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Croatia (CRO) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 | Yugoslavia (YUG) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | Germany (GER) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | Russia (RUS) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | East Germany (GDR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Unified Team (EUN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 11 | Romania (ROU) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 12 | Austria (AUT) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Iceland (ISL) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | South Korea (KOR) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | West Germany (FRG) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Spain (ESP) | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 18 | Poland (POL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | Switzerland (SUI) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (19 entries) | Totals (19 entries) | 15 | 15 | 15 | 45 |

### Participating nations
#### Legend

* 1st – Champions
* 2nd – Runners-up
* 3rd – Third place
* 4th – Fourth place
* • – Did not enter / Did not qualify
* – Hosts
* = – More than one team tied for that rank
* Q – Qualified for forthcoming tournament
| Nation | 1936 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 | 2028 | 2032 | Years |
| Algeria | • | • | • | 10th | 12th | 10th | • | 10th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | 4 |
| Argentina | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 10th | 10th | 12th | 12th | | | 4 |
| Australia | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 12th | • | • | • | • | • | • | | Q | 2 |
| Austria | 2nd | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | 1 |
| Bahrain | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 8th | • | | | 1 |
| Brazil | • | • | • | • | • | • | 12th | 11th | • | 10th | 11th | • | 7th | 10th | • | | | 6 |
| Canada | • | • | 11th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | 1 |
| China | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 12th | • | • | • | • | | | 1 |
| Croatia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | • | 1st | • | 1st | 4th | 3rd | 5th | • | 9th | | | 6 |
| Cuba | • | • | • | 11th | • | • | • | • | 11th | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | 2 |
| Denmark | • | 13th | 8th | 9th | 4th | • | • | • | • | • | 7th | 6th | 1st | 2nd | 1st | | | 9 |
| Egypt | • | • | • | • | • | • | 11th | 6th | 7th | 12th | 10th | • | 9th | 4th | 5th | | | 8 |
| France | • | • | • | • | • | • | 3rd | 4th | 6th | 5th | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 8th | | | 9 |
| Germany | 1st | See GDR and FRG | See GDR and FRG | See GDR and FRG | See GDR and FRG | See GDR and FRG | 10th | 7th | 5th | 2nd | 9th | • | 3rd | 6th | 2nd | | | 9 |
| Great Britain | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 12th | • | • | • | | | 1 |
| Greece | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 6th | • | • | • | • | • | | | 1 |
| Hungary | 4th | 8th | 6th | 4th | • | 4th | 7th | • | • | 4th | • | 4th | • | • | 10th | | | 9 |
| Iceland | • | 12th | • | • | 6th | 8th | 4th | • | • | 9th | 2nd | 5th | • | • | • | | | 7 |
| Japan | • | 11th | 9th | • | 10th | 11th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 11th | 11th | | | 6 |
| Kuwait | • | • | • | 12th | • | • | • | 12th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | 2 |
| Norway | • | 9th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 7th | 6th | | | 3 |
| Poland | • | 10th | 3rd | 7th | • | • | • | • | • | • | 5th | • | 4th | • | • | | | 5 |
| Portugal | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 9th | • | | | 1 |
| Qatar | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 8th | • | • | | | 1 |
| Romania | 5th | 3rd | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | • | 8th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | 6 |
| Russia | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | 5th | 1st | 3rd | 6th | • | • | • | • | | | 4 |
| Serbia | See Yugoslavia | See Yugoslavia | See Yugoslavia | See Yugoslavia | See Yugoslavia | See Yugoslavia | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | • | 9th | • | • | • | | | 1 |
| Slovenia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | • | • | 8th | 11th | • | • | 6th | • | 4th | | | 4 |
| South Korea | • | • | • | • | 11th | 2nd | 6th | • | 9th | 8th | 8th | 11th | • | • | • | | | 7 |
| Spain | • | 15th | • | 5th | 8th | 9th | 5th | 3rd | 3rd | 7th | 3rd | 7th | • | 3rd | 3rd | | | 12 |
| Sweden | • | 7th | • | • | 5th | 5th | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | • | • | 2nd | 11th | 5th | 7th | | | 10 |
| Switzerland | 3rd | • | • | 8th | 7th | • | • | 8th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | 4 |
| Tunisia | • | 16th | WD | • | • | • | • | • | 10th | • | • | 8th | 12th | • | • | | | 5 |
| United States | 6th | 14th | 10th | • | 9th | 12th | • | 9th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | Q | | 7 |
| Discontinued nations |||||||||||||||||||
| Czechoslovakia | • | 2nd | 7th | • | • | 6th | 9th | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | 4 |
| East Germany | G | 4th | • | 1st | • | 7th | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | 3 |
| Serbia and Montenegro | See Yugoslavia | See Yugoslavia | See Yugoslavia | See Yugoslavia | See Yugoslavia | See Yugoslavia | • | • | 4th | • | See Serbia | See Serbia | See Serbia | See Serbia | See Serbia | See Serbia | See Serbia | 1 |
| Soviet Union | • | 5th | 1st | 2nd | • | 1st | 1st | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | 5 |
| West Germany | G | 6th | 4th | • | 2nd | • | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | 3 |
| Yugoslavia | • | 1st | 5th | 6th | 1st | 3rd | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia | See Serbia | See Serbia | See Serbia | See Serbia | See Serbia | See Serbia | 5 |
| Total | 6 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | |

## Women's tournaments
### Summary

| Year | Host | Gold medal match | Gold medal match | Gold medal match | Bronze medal match | Bronze medal match | Bronze medal match | Teams |
| Year | Host | Gold medalists | Score | Silver medalists | Bronze medalists | Score | 4th-place finishers | Teams |
| 1976 Details | Montreal | Soviet Union | Round robin | East Germany | Hungary | Round robin | Romania | 6 |
| 1980 Details | Moscow | Soviet Union | Round robin | Yugoslavia | East Germany | Round robin | Hungary | 6 |
| 1984 Details | Los Angeles | Yugoslavia | Round robin | South Korea | China | Round robin | West Germany | 6 |
| 1988 Details | Seoul | South Korea | Round robin | Norway | Soviet Union | Round robin | Yugoslavia | 8 |
| 1992 Details | Barcelona | South Korea | 28–21 | Norway | Unified Team | 24–20 | Germany | 8 |
| 1996 Details | Atlanta | Denmark | 37–33 (ET) | South Korea | Hungary | 20–18 | Norway | 8 |
| 2000 Details | Sydney | Denmark | 31–27 | Hungary | Norway | 22–21 | South Korea | 10 |
| 2004 Details | Athens | Denmark | 34–34 (ET, pen: 4–2) | South Korea | Ukraine | 21–18 | France | 10 |
| 2008 Details | Beijing | Norway | 34–27 | Russia | South Korea | 33–28 | Hungary | 12 |
| 2012 Details | London | Norway | 26–23 | Montenegro | Spain | 31–29 | South Korea | 12 |
| 2016 Details | Rio de Janeiro | Russia | 22–19 | France | Norway | 36–26 | Netherlands | 12 |
| 2020 Details | Tokyo | France | 30–25 | ROC | Norway | 36–19 | Sweden | 12 |
| 2024 Details | Paris | Norway | 29–21 | France | Denmark | 30–25 | Sweden | 12 |
| 2028 Details | Los Angeles | | | | | | | 12 |
| 2032 Details | Brisbane | | | | | | | 12 |

### Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Norway (NOR) | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 2 | Denmark (DEN) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | South Korea (KOR) | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | Soviet Union (URS) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | France (FRA) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | Russia (RUS) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Yugoslavia (YUG) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | Hungary (HUN) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 9 | East Germany (GDR) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 10 | Montenegro (MNE) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | ROC (ROC) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | China (CHN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | Spain (ESP) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | Ukraine (UKR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | Unified Team (EUN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (15 entries) | Totals (15 entries) | 13 | 13 | 13 | 39 |

### Participating nations
#### Legend

* 1st – Champions
* 2nd – Runners-up
* 3rd – Third place
* 4th – Fourth place
* • – Did not enter / Did not qualify
* – Hosts
* = – More than one team tied for that rank
* Q – Qualified for forthcoming tournament
| Nation | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 | 2028 | 2032 | Years |
| Angola | • | • | • | • | • | 7th | 9th | 9th | 12th | 10th | 8th | 10th | 9th | | | 8 |
| Argentina | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 12th | • | • | | | 1 |
| Australia | • | • | • | • | • | • | 10th | • | • | • | • | • | • | | Q | 2 |
| Austria | • | • | 6th | • | 5th | • | 5th | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | 3 |
| Brazil | • | • | • | • | • | • | 8th | 7th | 9th | 6th | 5th | 11th | 7th | | | 7 |
| Canada | 6th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | 1 |
| China | • | • | 3rd | 6th | • | 5th | • | 8th | 6th | • | • | • | • | | | 5 |
| Congo | • | 6th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | 1 |
| Croatia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | • | • | • | • | • | 7th | • | • | • | | | 1 |
| Denmark | • | • | • | • | • | 1st | 1st | 1st | • | 9th | • | • | 3rd | | | 5 |
| France | • | • | • | • | • | • | 6th | 4th | 5th | 5th | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | | | 7 |
| Germany | See GDR and FRG | See GDR and FRG | See GDR and FRG | See GDR and FRG | 4th | 6th | • | • | 11th | • | • | • | 8th | | | 4 |
| Great Britain | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 12th | • | • | • | | | 1 |
| Greece | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 10th | • | • | • | • | • | | | 1 |
| Hungary | 3rd | 4th | • | • | • | 3rd | 2nd | 5th | 4th | • | • | 7th | 6th | | | 8 |
| Ivory Coast | • | • | • | 8th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | 1 |
| Japan | 5th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 12th | • | | | 2 |
| Kazakhstan | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | • | • | • | 10th | • | • | • | • | | | 1 |
| Montenegro | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Serbia and Montenegro | Part of Serbia and Montenegro | Part of Serbia and Montenegro | Part of Serbia and Montenegro | • | 2nd | 11th | 6th | • | | | 3 |
| Netherlands | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 4th | 5th | 5th | | | 3 |
| Nigeria | • | • | • | • | 8th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | 1 |
| Norway | • | • | • | 2nd | 2nd | 4th | 3rd | • | 1st | 1st | 3rd | 3rd | 1st | | | 9 |
| Romania | 4th | • | • | • | • | • | 7th | • | 7th | • | 9th | • | • | | | 4 |
| Russia | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | • | • | • | 2nd | 8th | 1st | 2nd | • | | | 4 |
| Slovenia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 11th | | | 1 |
| South Korea | • | • | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 4th | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 10th | 8th | 10th | | | 11 |
| Spain | • | • | • | • | 7th | • | • | 6th | • | 3rd | 6th | 9th | 12th | | | 6 |
| Sweden | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 8th | 11th | 7th | 4th | 4th | | | 5 |
| Ukraine | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | • | • | 3rd | • | • | • | • | • | | | 1 |
| United States | • | • | 5th | 7th | 6th | 8th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | Q | | 5 |
| Discontinued nations |||||||||||||||||
| Czechoslovakia | • | 5th | • | 5th | • | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | 2 |
| East Germany | 2nd | 3rd | • | • | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | 2 |
| Soviet Union | 1st | 1st | • | 3rd | 3rd | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | 4 |
| West Germany | • | • | 4th | • | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | 1 |
| Yugoslavia | • | 2nd | 1st | 4th | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia | See Serbia | See Serbia | See Serbia | See Serbia | See Serbia | See Serbia | 3 |
| Total | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | |

## Medal table

The table below include teams under the name they had at the time. When the Soviet Union broke up in 1991 they played one last tournament in 1992 as the Unified Team, which they won for the men and got a bronze medal for the women. Russia is a break-away from the Soviet Union and ROC is Russia under another name. Croatia is a break-away from Yugoslavia, which ceased to exist in 1992. German Democratic Republic and West Germany were created after World War II. They were united into Germany in 1990.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Denmark (DEN) | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| 2 | France (FRA) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| 3 | Soviet Union (URS) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | Norway (NOR) | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 5 | Yugoslavia (YUG) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 6 | South Korea (KOR) | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| 7 | Russia (RUS) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 8 | Croatia (CRO) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | Germany (GER) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 10 | East Germany (GDR) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 11 | Unified Team (EUN) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 12 | Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 13 | Romania (ROU) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 14 | Hungary (HUN) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 15 | Austria (AUT) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | Iceland (ISL) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | Montenegro (MNE) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | ROC (ROC) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | West Germany (FRG) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | Spain (ESP) | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| 22 | China (CHN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 22 | Poland (POL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 22 | Switzerland (SUI) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 22 | Ukraine (UKR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (25 entries) | Totals (25 entries) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 84 |