Lynn McCafferty

Last updated

Lynn McCafferty
Personal information
Born (1979-04-16) 16 April 1979 (age 45)
Coatbridge
Nationality British
National team
YearsTeam
 Great Britain

Lynn McCafferty (born 16 April 1979) is a British handball player, born in Coatbridge. She has played for the British national team, and competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. [1]

Contents

Early life

McCafferty was born in Coatbridge on 16 April 1979, [2] and grew up in the North Lanarkshire town of Cumbernauld, part of the Glasgow metropolitan area in Scotland. She attended Our Lady's High School in Cumbernauld, which was also attended by Scotland footballer and fellow 2012 Olympian Ifeoma Dieke. [3]

Career

McCafferty began playing handball at the age of ten, when she joined the Tryst 77 handball club in Cumbernauld. After progressing through the club's ranks, she was selected for the first team at the age of fifteen, making her debut in the now-defunct British League. [4] In August 2006, [5] McCafferty left Cumbernauld and moved to Denmark, together with four male Tryst 77 players including husband Gary McCafferty. The purpose of the move was to receive training in elite facilities in Denmark, a country where handball is a popular spectator sport and receives greater attention than in the United Kingdom, boosting their chances of selection for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The players were among 61 Scottish recipients of a grant for athletes from the National Lottery and they were trained at the Aarhus Sports Academy by Carsten Albrektsen, the coach of Danish club Bjerringbro-Silkeborg, who had been recruited by Team GB to help train potential Olympic players. [6] As well as training McCafferty began playing competitively in Denmark, [5] for the Nyborg GIF club in the country's third division. [7]

In 2009, funding for the training programme in Denmark ceased, and McCafferty had to look for professional a contract to continue her career. After initially moving to Norway, [8] McCafferty eventually spent the 2009–10 season in Italy, playing for the SSV Brixen club in the country's second tier, taking advantage of the club's intensive training regime and increased game play to improve her skills and fitness. [9] The following season she returned to Denmark, starting the 2010–11 season with Hadsten Sports Klub Håndbold of the second division before moving mid-season to Aarhus-based AGF Håndbold, who played in the Danish 1st Division, the country's second tier. [10]

From at least 2008, McCafferty was selected as captain of the Great Britain women's national handball team, which had not previously competed and was formed with the specific goal of competing at the 2012 Olympics. [11] Like McCafferty, many of the national team's elite players had trained at Aarhus and then played in the leagues of various European countries. In late 2010, British Handball reached a deal allowing the team to train at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre from the end of the season in May 2011. The players were not fully funded, and were expected to seek outside employment, but the deal allowed the team to train and play together on a regular basis for a year prior to the 2012 Games. [8]

McCafferty went on to captain the Great Britain side in the 2012 Olympics. The team lost the opener at the Copper Box Arena on 28 July against Montenegro, their first ever Olympic game, by a score of 31–19, but the team played well and the match was close until the final ten minutes when the Montenegrans took advantage of British fatigue. McCafferty was among the scorers in the game, [12] and later praised the side's performance in an interview with BBC Sport. [13] The team went on to lose the remainder of their games in Group A of the tournament, and were eliminated from the competition. [14] McCafferty retired after the Olympics, and returned home to Cumbernauld. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ceres Arena</span> Sports venue in Aarhus, Denmark

Ceres Arena is an indoor arena mainly used for handball matches and public events in Aarhus, Denmark. The arena was opened in 2001 and has a capacity of 5,001 spectators. It is part of the Aarhus Sports Park, which also includes Aarhus Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hummel International</span> Danish manufacturing company of sportswear

Hummel International Sport & Leisure A/S, commonly known as Hummel, is a German-founded Danish manufacturing company of sportswear brand based in Aarhus. It is owned by Thornico. The company currently manufactures apparel for football, rugby league, futsal, handball, basketball, shinty, volleyball and esports teams. Moreover, the company also offers apparel and footwear for children alongside its fashion sub-brand, Hummel HIVE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gro Hammerseng-Edin</span> Norwegian handball player (born 1980)

Gro Hammerseng-Edin is a Norwegian former handballer who last played for the club Larvik HK. She was captain of the Norwegian national team for several years, and in 2007 she was voted female World Handball Player of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erik Veje Rasmussen</span> Danish handball player (born 1959)

Erik Veje Rasmussen is a former Danish handball player and handball coach who competed in the 1982 World Men's Handball Championship and 1984 Summer Olympics. In addition to Handball he is also an author and inventor of sports clothing.

Josephine Touray is a former Danish team handball player and Olympic champion of Gambian descent. She played mainly as a right wing. Over the course of her career she played 123 games for the Danish national team, where she scored 383 goals. She played for the clubs: Bjerringbro KFUM, Viborg HK, KIF Kolding, Ikast-Bording EH, FCK Håndbold, Frederiksberg IF and SK Aarhus, all in Denmark. She received a gold medal with the Danish national team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

Trine Skovgaard Nielsen is a former Danish team handball player, Olympic champion and recently sports commentator for TV 2 Denmark. She won a gold medal with the Danish national team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henrik Toft Hansen</span> Danish handball player (born 1986)

Henrik Toft Hansen is a Danish professional handball player for Mors-Thy Håndbold and the Danish national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mikkel Hansen</span> Danish handball player (born 1987)

Mikkel Hansen is a Danish former professional handball player.

Gracemount Edinburgh Handball Club was formed in 2002 by Fred Wallace as part of the rebirth of the Scottish Handball Association. In the beginning, the club started with about ten 11- to 13-year-old children training once a week, learning basic ball control skills. Over the next 6 years though, the club has expanded hugely and now boasts a sizeable youth team and a large senior men's team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Britain men's national handball team</span> National handball team

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.

Jan Pytlick is a Danish handball coach, and trains Saudi Arabia national team. He was head coach for the Danish women's national handball team from 1998 to 2006, and again from 2007 to 2014. Pytlick has led the women's national team to victory in two Summer Olympics, as they became Olympic Champions in 2000, and again in 2004. After the team's flop at the 2014 European Women's Handball Championship, DHF and Pytlick agreed to end cooperation.

The Kvindeligaen is the top professional league for Danish women's handball clubs. It is administered by the Danish Handball Federation, and the winners are recognized as Danish champions. The league was previously called Bambusa Kvindeligaen for sponsorship reasons. It has previously been known as HTH GO Ligaen, Primo Tours Ligaen, Boxer Dameligaen, TOMS Ligaen and GuldBageren Ligaen. The current title holder is Team Esbjerg (2023). The European Handball Federation (EHF) ranks the Danish league 4th in the coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the past seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Bredsdorff-Larsen</span> Danish handball coach (born 1967)

Peter Bredsdorff-Larsen is as Danish handball coach and former player, whom currently is head coach for Faroe Islands men's national handball team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ifeoma Dieke</span> Scottish footballer

Ifeoma Nnenna Dieke is an American-born Scottish international footballer who played as a defender for several professional clubs in Sweden, the United States, and Cyprus. Between 2004 and 2017, she won 123 caps for the Scotland women's national football team. Dieke was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to Nigerian parents, moving to Cumbernauld in Scotland when she was three years old. Dieke was the first black woman to captain for Scotland, and Dieke and fellow Scot Kim Little were the only non-English players selected in the Great Britain squad for the 2012 London Olympics.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aarhus Håndbold</span> Danish handball club

Aarhus Håndbold was a handball club from Aarhus, Denmark. The club was founded in 2001 originally under the name Århus GF, as an extension of the traditional Aarhus clubs AGF, Brabrand IF, VRI and Århus KFUM/YMCA / Hasle. AGF chose later to withdraw from the superstructure. The home arena of Aarhus Håndbold was Ceres Arena.

Mette Tranborg is a Danish handball player for Team Esbjerg and the Danish national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simone Petersen</span> Danish handball player (born 1997)

Simone Cathrine Petersen is a Danish handball player for Ikast Håndbold and the Danish national team. She represented Denmark at the 2021 World Women's Handball Championship in Spain.

Helena Hagesøe Elver is a Danish handball player who plays for Odense Håndbold and the Danish national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emil Nielsen (handballer)</span> Danish handball player (born 1997)

Emil Nielsen is a Danish professional handball player for FC Barcelona and the Danish national team.

References

  1. ↑ "Lynn Mccafferty". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  2. ↑ "Lynn McCafferty". Team GB. 29 March 2020.
  3. ↑ Lauren Crooks (5 August 2012). "Footballer Ifeoma and handball sstar Lynn started at Our Lady's". Daily Record. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  4. ↑ "Lynn Mccafferty". Sporting Hall Of Fame. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Lynn McCafferty". Sky Sports. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  6. ↑ "Honour for Tryst 77 members". Cumbernauld News. 20 September 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2020.[ dead link ]
  7. ↑ Henrik Dolmer (26 March 2008). "Håndbold - 3. division damer: AIA/Tranbjerg – GIF 23-26 (11-11)". Djurslands Portalen (in Danish).
  8. 1 2 Nick Hope (4 November 2010). "GB handball players to return to London in 2011". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  9. ↑ "McCafferty Loves the Italian Job". Handball News (106). 3 February 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  10. ↑ "GB Captain McCafferty Steps Up a League". Handball News (150). 22 December 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  11. ↑ "British handball squad making strides in quest for London 2012 Olympic success". The Daily Telegraph. 18 October 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  12. ↑ Jessica Winch (28 July 2012). "Britain's women suffer defeat to Montenegro in handball competition debut". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  13. ↑ "Tearful captain proud of GB handball team". BBC Sport. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  14. ↑ "Olympics handball: Croatia defeat seals British whitewash". BBC Sport. 5 August 2012.
  15. ↑ "Handball: Proud captain gets ready for life after the Games". Herald Scotland. 18 July 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.