Merel Freriks

Merel Freriks
Personal information
Born	(1998-01-06) 6 January 1998 (age 27) Hoofddorp, Netherlands
Nationality	Dutch
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Pivot
Club information
Current club	Team Esbjerg
Youth career
Team
–	HV Borger
Senior clubs
Years	Team
0000–2017	Emmen & Omstreken
2017–2019	HSG Bensheim/Auerbach
2019–2022	Borussia Dortmund
2022–2024	Brest Bretagne Handball
2024–01/2025	Vipers Kristiansand
01/2025–	Team Esbjerg
National team
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–	Netherlands	97	(179)
Medal record World Championship 2019 Japan European Championship 2018 France

Merel Freriks (born 6 January 1998) is a Dutch female handball player for Danish club Team Esbjerg and the Dutch national team. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

She was a part the Netherlands team that won the 2019 World Women's Handball Championship; the first title in the country's history. ^{[4] [5]}

Career

Merel Freriks began playing handball at HV Borger. In 2010 she joined E&O. ^[6]

In 2017 she joined German Bundesliga side HSG Bensheim/Auerbach. ^[7] In October the same year, she deuted for the Dutch national team. At the 2018 European Championship she won a bronze medal. ^[8] In 2019 she joined league rivals Borussia Dortmund ^[9] Here she won the 2021 German championship.

In 2022 she joined French team Brest Bretagne Handball. ^[10] In November 2023 she suffered a cruciate ligament injury, that made her miss the 2023 World Championship ^[11] In 2024 she joined Norwegian top club Vipers Kristiansand. ^[12]

In January 2025 she joined Danish Team Esbjerg, after her former club, Norwegian Vipers Kristiansand went bankrupt. ^[13]

Achievements

Club

• German league (Bundesliga) :
  • Winner: 2021 (with Borussia Dortmund Handball)
  • Runner up: 2022 (with Borussia Dortmund Handball)

International

• World Championship
  • Gold: 2019
• European Championship
  • Bronze: 2018

References

1. EHF profile
2. "Merel Freriks Profile". hbf-info.de. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
3. Merel Freriks
4. "Mayonnade maakt definitieve WK-selectie bekend". handbal.nl (in Dutch). 4 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
5. 2019 World Women's Handball Championship roster
6. "E&O talenten naar handbalacademie" (in Dutch). emmen.nu. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
7. "Freriks vertrekt naar koploper tweede Bundesliga" (in Dutch). handbalinside.nl. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
8. eurohandball.com: Merel Freriks (EM 2018), retrieved 6. January 2019
9. "Borussia Dortmund bestätigt Neuverpflichtungen von Bensheim/Auerbach" (in German). handball-world.news. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
10. ""Eine Rebellin": Brest verpflichtet niederländische Nationalspielerin aus Dortmund" (in German). handball-world.news. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
11. "Die Niederlande muss bei Handball-WM auf Ex-Bundesligaspielerin verzichten" (in German). handball-world.news. 22 November 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
12. "Merel Freriks er Vipers-spiller" (in Norwegian). Vipers Kristiansand . Retrieved 20 May 2024.
13. "Norsk storklub går konkurs - igen" [Norwegian top club in bankrupt - again] (in Danish). Danmarks Radio. 13 January 2025. Retrieved 17 January 2025.

External links

• Merel Freriks at the European Handball Federation
• Merel Freriks at Olympics.com
• Merel Freriks at Olympedia
• Merel Freriks at TeamNL ( archive ) (in Dutch)