Reykjavík Grapevine - 10.08.2012, Blaðsíða 6

6
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 12 — 2012
Iceland | vs. The Olympics
Not This Year: Iceland’s Famous
Fifteen Miss Out
Not-so-fun fact: We were so certain of Iceland's handball team's chances of
progressing to the finals that when they blew it (on our day of print, no less!)
we had to rewrite a bunch of articles! Damn
Words by Mark O' Brien @MarkOBrien01
Photo by Richard Machin @beatley82
Four more years of hurt.
When Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
was doorstepped by interna-
tional reporters in London last
week, he must have struggled
to hide a wide smile of relief. For
the first time in years, they didn’t
want to ask about the crash or
the banks; for once, the word
“Iceland” was printed without
“collapse” or “bankrupt” next
to it.
It was TIME magazine that gleefully
relayed the President’s fist-pumping
words as the country’s handball team
launched their quest to build upon the
silver they brought home from Beijing
in 2008.
“Handball, for us, has become not just
a sport, but the core of the national spir-
it,” he said. “Can anyone honestly say
the same about any single US Olympic
team? I’m here not just as a great fan...
but to also pay homage to what they’ve
done.” London 2012 marked Iceland’s
first Olympic Games since the global
embarrassment of the crash. Four years
ago, when the world toasted the coun-
try’s fourth medal in Olympics history,
little did the squad know that within a
matter of months their nation’s name
would be muck, that the British gov-
ernment would be employing the same
legislation against Icelandic assets as it
uses against terrorists.
Before 2008, Iceland had won a tri-
ple jump silver in Melbourne (1956), a
judo bronze in Los Angeles (1984), and
a women’s pole vault bronze back in
Australia in Sydney (2000). In Beijing,
Iceland’s athletes reached a respectable
70th place on the medals table thanks
to that handball display—no mean feat
for one of the very smallest countries to
compete.
Bums go to Iceland
(since bankruptcy)
Yet in 2012 the country occupies an en-
tirely different position in the global zeit-
geist. London’s conservative broadsheet
The Telegraph summarised the history
of every participant nation in six words,
deploying all the characteristic pith and
panache of the British press. Their com-
mentary on this volcanic, black-sanded
corner of the Atlantic? “Bums go to Ice-
land (since bankruptcy).”
And so it was not only that elusive
first gold of which the twenty-eight ath-
letes representing Iceland were doubt-
less dreaming as they f lew to Britain
from Keflavík; it was also to regain a na-
tion’s pride.
This Icelandic cohort was greeted
by international pressmen as “the most
important team at the Olympics.” In
London, the refrain usually reserved for
the build-up to a great sporting fixture
is “England Expects”: a reminder of the
signal sent by Admiral Nelson from
HMS Victory ahead of the Battle of Tra-
falgar, “England expects that every man
will do his duty.” In Reykjavík last week,
Ólafur had already sent his signal: “Ice-
land Insists”.
“We have no army in Iceland, so
it’s with handball we fight for the rec-
ognition,” Iceland’s handball coach
Guðmundur Þ. Guðmundsson said.
Fifty-two this year and a former player
himself, Guðmundur coaches Rhein-
Neckar Löwen in the German top divi-
sion—and led Iceland to its 2008 silver
as well as to a bronze medal at the 2010
European handball championship in
Austria.
His fifteen-man team is well-trav-
elled. Only two members still play in
Iceland: 32-year old left-back Ingimun-
dur Ingimundarson competes at Lau-
gardalsvöllur for Fram Reykjavík, whilst
young new recruit Ólafur Ragnarsson
turns out in the white-and-red home
strip of Handknattleiksfélag Kópavogs.
Eight on the team play in the German
league, whilst four defensive players
are teammates for AG in Copenhagen;
reserve keeper Hreiðar Guðmundsson
meanwhile plays in Norway.
For 39-year-old Ólafur Stefánsson,
Icelandic handball captain and four-
time Sports Personality of the Year, this
was to be the culmination of a great
career that spans more than two whole
decades. The six-foot-five right-back is
one of the best handballers in the world,
holding the record for the highest num-
ber of goals scored for a national team.
Four years ago, Ólafur was bestowed
with the Knight Grand Cross of the Or-
der of the Falcon; expectations ahead of
2012 were evidently to be raised dramat-
ically. One sports journo wrote about his
broad range of interests and passions,
as well as his stand-out sporting record,
and named him “the coolest guy at the
Olympics.”
The most important team
Holding a nation’s hopes, once again,
were the famous fifteen. For the uniniti-
ated, handball is a quick-fire sport, not
one for the faint-hearted. Seven-man
teams play on indoor courts of 40 metres
by 20, shunting the ball by hand between
their teammates and dispatching it into
the opposition goal. In a single 60-min-
ute match, you can expect to see as many
as fifty goals scored. The characteristic
Viking stature does wonders for the
Icelandic sport, as height is an obvious
factor for determining success: women
players average at five-foot-eleven, whilst
men are often six-three and above.
Modern team handball grew at the
end of the nineteenth century in north-
ern Europe, the rules of today’s game
set out in German in 1917. The Inter-
national Handball Federation listed 166
member federations in July 2009, with
approximately 19 million players in the
sport worldwide.
London’s Copper Box has become
the host for each of Iceland’s handball
games in the group stage. The team has
already stormed to victories against Ar-
gentina, Tunisia, Sweden, and France—
securing their place in the quarterfinals
even before coming up against a hope-
less Great Britain side.
Iceland’s men in red played boldly
in its opening group matches. Their
defence has been disappointing, conced-
ing 108 goals in their first four matches,
but also scoring a sensational 126—and
crucially, holding their nerve when it
counted. Slim 33-32 and 30-29 victories
against Sweden and France respectively
raised hopes that this Iceland team had
not only the talent but also the compo-
sure to chalk up a remarkable first for
a country in need of some newfound
world recognition.
It was the French who took home
the 2008 gold, defeating Iceland 28–23.
They also reign as double defending
World Championships and have proven
sharp in their matches so far. But when
TIME magazine dubs this Icelandic co-
hort “the most important team at the
Olympics,” and with a chorus of sup-
port from a President and a people, they
know that while the pressure is great, so
too are they.
Defeated by Hungary
In their group stage, the Hungarians
managed only two victories, scoring
four points and finishing fourth—
scraping into the final stages, to put it
generously. It all should have been so
simple. But from the off, the Icelanders
were on the backfoot: after five minutes,
Hungary stormed ahead with a 5-1 lead.
Iceland pushed the invading cen-
tral Europeans back, transforming the
scoreline to 9-8 in their favour after
twenty minutes. After that faltering
start however, their dominance was nev-
er regained. The Hungarians went into
the break leading 16-12. The second half
saw Iceland pull their socks up—a stern
word or two from a decidedly grim-faced
coach Guðmundur was surely had.
A penalty throw in the dying seconds
of normal time gave Snorri Steinn Gud-
jonsson the opportunity to seal a famous
victory and close an epic match. But his
miss handed Hungary the advantage,
who countered with an attack and a
goal with just three seconds remain-
ing on the clock—taking the game into
extra time, where Hungary ultimately
prevailed, progressing to the semi-final
with a cruel 34-33 win.
So for all the hype and expectation,
an unexpected defeat brought Iceland’s
hopes of Olympic glory to a halt—but
only for four more years.
“
“We have no army in Ice-
land, so it’s with handball
we fight for the recogni-
tion,” Iceland’s handball
coach Guðmundur Þ.
Guðmundsson said.„
Ásdís Hjálmsdóttir celebrates her new, national javelin record at the London Olympics.
OUR CONTENDERS
The famous fifteen were
not alone arriving
in London this
summer. For Jakob
Sveinsson, 2012
was to be his fourth
Olympics, having taken part at every
turn since Sydney. He began swimming
for S.C. Ægir before he even reached
double digits, and in 2000 recorded
Iceland’s highest-ever result in Olympic
swimming, finishing in 25th place,
setting new national records in all three
breaststroke events nine years later in
the World Championships.
London 2012 promised
to be a platform for
both established
Icelandic greats and
new, up-and-coming
starlets. 22-year old
Sarah Blake Bateman for example set
out to take part in her first Games. Born
and raised in the States, she takes her
citizenship from her Icelandic mother.
Icelandic women’s
javelin throw record
holder Ásdís
Hjálmsdóttir returned
to the fray after
representing the country
in qualifying for the 2008 finals. After
failing to progress, back home in May
2009 she scored her personal best
throw of 61.37 metres, before going
on to finish 10th in the 2010 European
Championships in Barcelona. In the
qualifying round for the women’s javelin
final this week, Ásdís reset her own
record, with a throw that added nearly
a metre and a half to her previous best,
scoring a remarkable 62.77 metres.

None of Iceland’s
swimmers progressed
from their heats
to the semifinals.
Sport shooter Ásgeir
Sigurgeirsson finished a
worthy 14th in the qualifying round for
the men’s 10 metre air pistol, but failed
to make it through to the final.
Þormóður Árni Jónsson
fell short against
Brazilian Silva in the
first round of the
men’s +100kg judo
event.

Ragna Ingólfsdóttir
enjoyed a victory
against Lithuanian
opposition in her
opening women’s
singles badminton match,
but then lost to Dutch player Yao Jie.