The pace was furious from the start in the handball final on the women's side. Both teams went all out, and followed each other for a long time. In the end, it was Norway that managed to take the lead with two goals at halftime.
Thanks largely to the experienced Stine Bredal Oftedal, who did most of the work on offense. After half the match, she, along with Henny Reistad, was the top scorer with four goals.
In the second half, she instead took on the role of playmaker, creating chance after chance.
Norway's offensive power became too much for France in the second half, while the home nation struggled to get past the 44-year-old Katrine Lunde in the Norwegian goal.
The lead grew to five goals in the middle of the second half, and France had no answer. When the final whistle blew, the Norwegian players could celebrate their country's second gold medal at the Olympic Games in Paris. The final score was 29–21 to Norway.
Thus, Bredal Oftedal took her last chance to win that Olympic gold.
The Norwegian star announced before the Olympic Games that this would be her last appearance in the national team jersey, but more and more suggests that it may also be the last thing she does in her career overall.
