Jesper Parker (born 18 April 1984) is a British handball goalkeeper. At the 2012 Summer Olympics he competed with the Great Britain men's national handball team in the men's tournament. [1]
Although born and raised in Sweden, he was eligible for Team GB through his British father. At the time of the 2012 Olympics he played in the Swedish second division. [2] Team GB lost every game during the 2012 Olympics, although Parker's performance was noted as being one of few positives for the team. [3]
Football at the Summer Olympics, referred to as the Olympic Football Tournament, has been included in every Summer Olympic Games as a men's competition sport, except 1896 and 1932. Women's football was added to the official program at the Atlanta 1996 Games.
Athletes from the United Kingdom, all but three of its Overseas Territories, and the three Crown Dependencies, can compete in the Olympic Games as part of Team GB. Athletes from Northern Ireland can also choose to compete as part of Team Ireland instead. It has sent athletes to every Summer and Winter Games, since the start of the Olympics' modern era in 1896, including the 1980 Summer Olympics, which were boycotted by a number of other Western nations. From 1896 to 2020 inclusive, Great Britain & Northern Ireland has won 918 medals at the Summer Olympic Games, and another 32 at the Winter Olympic Games. It is the only national team to have won at least one gold medal at every Summer Games, lying third globally in the winning of total medals, surpassed only by the United States and the former Soviet Union.
The association football tournament at the 2012 Summer Olympics was held from 25 July to 11 August, and was the only sport to begin before the official opening day of the Olympic Games, two days before the opening ceremony. It was also the only sport to be held at multiple venues outside London, with Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Coventry and Cardiff all hosting matches. The finals were played at Wembley Stadium. Associations affiliated with FIFA were invited to send their senior women's and men's under-23 national teams to participate; men's teams were allowed to augment their squads with three players over the age of 23. Five hundred and four football players competed for two sets of gold medals.
The Great Britain men's national handball team is the national handball team of Great Britain and is controlled by the British Handball Association which is jointly operated by the England Handball Association and the Scottish Handball Association.
The British Handball Association is the governing body of Team Handball in Britain. It has been a member of the International Handball Federation (IHF) since 1970 and of the European Handball Federation (EHF). It has 864.683 members as of 2014. Other representation at European level is under different national associations: the England Handball Association and the Scottish Handball Association. This dual structure, which is shared by several others sports, reflects the conflict between the desire of the home nations to organise the sport separately, and the need to have an overall body for international purposes, such as the Olympics.
The Great Britain men's Olympic football team is the men's football team that represents the United Kingdom at the Summer Olympic Games. The team is organised by the English Football Association as the men's footballing representative of the British Olympic Association. The team only competes in the Olympic Games. In other international football tournaments, the Home Nations of the United Kingdom are represented by their own national teams, a situation which pre-dated the establishment of a GB team.
Christopher McDermott is a British handball player. He competed as part of Team GB at the 2012 London Olympic Games. He currently coaches the GB Men's Under 20s. Past clubs include R.D. Slovan of Slovenia, Danish Liga side Aarhus G.F. and German Bundasliga side TUSEM Essen. In June 2015 he became the Great Britain handball team's most capped player, surpassing Mick Hegarty's long standing record of 55 caps set in the 1980s.
France competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, between 27 July and 12 August 2012. French athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games of the modern era. The French Olympic Committee sent a total of 330 athletes to the Games, 183 men and 147 women, to compete in 24 sports.
Great Britain and Northern Ireland, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012 as the host nation and the team of selected athletes was officially known as Team GB. British athletes have competed at every Summer Olympic Games in the modern era, alongside Australia, France and Greece, though Great Britain is the only one to have won at least one gold medal at all of them. London is the first city to host the Summer Olympics on three different occasions, having previously done so in 1908 and 1948. Soon, it will be joined by Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028 in hosting the Olympic Games for a third time. Team GB, organised by BOA, sent a total of 541 athletes, 279 men and 262 women, to the Games, and won automatic qualification places in all 26 sports.
Sweden competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 25 July to 12 August 2012. Swedish athletes have competed at every edition of the Summer Olympic Games in the modern era, except for the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis. The Swedish Olympic Committee sent a total of 134 athletes to the Games, 55 men and 79 women, to compete in 20 sports. For the second consecutive time in its Olympic history, Sweden was represented by more female than male athletes.
Great Britain competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from 29 August to 9 September 2012 as the host nation. A total of 288 athletes were selected to compete along with 13 other team members such as sighted guides. The country finished third in the medals table, behind China and Russia, winning 120 medals in total; 34 gold, 43 silver and 43 bronze. Multiple medallists included cyclist Sarah Storey and wheelchair athlete David Weir, who won four gold medals each, and swimmer Stephanie Millward who won a total of five medals. Storey also became the British athlete with the most overall medals, 22, and equal-most gold medals, 11, in Paralympic Games history.
Robert Parker is a British water polo player. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed for the Great Britain men's national water polo team in the men's event. He is 6 ft 6 inches tall. He was the top goal scorer for Team GB with 8 goals in the London Olympics.
Steven James Larsson is a British handball player. He was born in Scarborough in North Yorkshire but moved to Linköping in Sweden as a youngster.
Robin Garnham is a British handball player. He was born in Karlstad, Sweden. He competed for the British national team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He played for the Norwegian club Fram Larvik.
Sebastien Edgar is a British handball player. He was born in Basildon in Essex, England. He competed for the British national team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Ciaran Williams is a British handball coach, currently head coach of Great Britain's U18 squad. At the 2012 Summer Olympics he competed with the Great Britain men's national handball team in the men's tournament.
Christopher Mohr is a British handball player. At the 2012 Summer Olympics he competed with the Great Britain men's national handball team in the men's tournament.
Robert White is a British handball player. At the 2012 Summer Olympics he competed with the Great Britain men's national handball team in the men's tournament.
Martin Hare is a British handball player. He was born in Brighton, East Sussex, England. At the 2012 Summer Olympics he competed with the Great Britain men's national handball team in the men's tournament.
Mark Hawkins is a British handball coach, currently head coach of Norwegian club IK Våg. He was born in Horsham, West Sussex. At the 2012 Summer Olympics he competed with the Great Britain men's national handball team in the men's tournament.