Lene Rantala

Lene Rantala
Personal information
Born	(1968-08-10) 10 August 1968 (age 56) Gladsaxe, Denmark
Nationality	Danish
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Retired
Senior clubs
Years	Team
1900–1993	FIF
1993–1994	Brabrand
1994–1996	Toten HK
1996–1997	IK Junkeren
1997–2014	Larvik HK
National team
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1991–2007	Denmark	226	(0)
Teams managed
2014–2019	Larvik HK (Team manager)
2018–2019	Netherlands (GK coach)
2019	Larvik HK (Head coach)
2019–2023	Vipers Kristiansand (GK coach)
2023–01/2025	Vipers Kristiansand (Assistant coach)
Medal record Women's handball Representing   Denmark Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta Team 2000 Sydney Team World Championship 1997 Germany Team 1993 Norway Team 1995 Austria/Hungary Team European Championship 1994 Germany Team 1996 Denmark Team 2002 Denmark Team 1998 Netherlands Team

Lene Rantala (born 10 August 1968 in Copenhagen, Denmark) is a former Danish handball player and handball coach, two times Olympic champion and a World champion. Rantala was assistant coach for Vipers Kristiansand in the Norwegian REMA 1000-ligaen until the bankruptcy of the club ^[1]

Career

During her career she played for Frederiksberg IF and Brabrand in Denmark, before moving to Norway in 1994 to join Toten HK. In 1996 she joined IK Junkeren, where she played for a single season before joining Larvik HK. Here so won 40 titles with the club over a 17-year period. ^[2] In 2014 she retired at the age of 45 to become a goalkeeping coach at the club. ^[3] In December 2024 she made a short comeback due to the injury of Larvik goalkeeper Alma Hasanić. ^[4]

National team

She debuted on the Danish national team on 14 February 1991, and has since played 226 matches for Denmark. This makes her the 3rd most tenured player on the Danish Women's national team ever behind fellow goalkeeper Karin Mortensen and Janne Kolling. ^[5] She also has the record for the oldest player on the Danish national team ever with 42 years and 307 days. ^[6] She has won numerous medals with the team, notably including two Olympic gold medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta ^[7] and at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. ^[8]

Personal life

Rantala is of Finnish descent through her paternal grandmother. ^[9]

References

1. "Norsk storklub går konkurs – igen" [Norwegian top club in bankrupt – again] (in Danish). Danmarks Radio. 13 January 2025. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
2. "Lene Rantala ferdig i Larvik HK" (in Norwegian). op.no. 2 May 2014.
3. "Nu siger 45-årige Lene Rantala stop" [Now the 45 year old Rantala ends it]. sport.tv2.dk (in Danish). TV2 Danmark. 1 May 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
4. "Lene (46) klar for sin 16. NM-finale". tv2.no. 30 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
5. "KVINDE A-LANDSKAMPE RANGLISTE 1947 - 2023" (in Danish). Håndbold Info.
6. "KVINDE A-LANDSHOLDSPILLERE ÆLDST PÅ LANDSHOLDET" (in Danish). Håndbold Info.
7. "1996 Summer Olympics – Atlanta, United States – Handball" Archived 2007-12-08 at the Wayback Machine databaseOlympics.com (Retrieved on 12 February 2008)
8. "2000 Summer Olympics – Sydney, Australia – Handball" Archived 2008-04-07 at the Wayback Machine databaseOlympics.com (Retrieved on 12 February 2008)
9. "Rantala torjui Tanskalle kultaa". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 2 October 2000. Retrieved 26 August 2020. suomalaistaustainen (isän äiti oli suomalainen) maalivahti Lene Rantala

External links

• Lene Rantala at the European Handball Federation
• Lene Rantala at Olympics.com
• Lene Rantala at Olympedia