From showcases of community strength to snowy isolationArticle
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WEEKLY UPDATE: We saw Neagu’s cracking treadmill pace, Brattset’s cross country workout and strength in community as lockdown life continued
With the handball world settled into lockdown life, the showcases of solidarity, creative training at home and messages of inspiration continued over the past week.
One of the most significant social media posts in the handball world came from the record top scorer of the Men’s EHF EURO and VELUX EHF Champions League 2014/15 winner, Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson. The Iceland wing announced an end to his playing career after 25 years – and so many brilliant moments – on court.
Jæja, það er komið að þeim tímapunkti sem allt íþróttafólk nær á sínum ferli. Eftir 25 ár í meistaraflokki og 21 ár í landsliðinu er loksins kominn tími á að skórnir fari á hilluna. Á svona tímamótum langar mig að þakka öllum sem hafa stutt við bakið á mér í gegnum súrt og sætt. Samherjum, þjálfurum, læknum, sjúkraþjálfurum, liðsstjórum, stuðningsmönnum og öllum hinum, líka mótherjum. Síðast en ekki síst langar mig að þakka fjölskyldu minni fyrir ómetanlegan stuðning og þá sérstaklega konunni minni og börnunum. Þóra, Ína, Jóna og Jason, þið hafið gert það þess virði að standa í þessu í öll þessi ár. Handboltinn hefur opnað mér heim sem fáum auðnast og ég hefði aldrei ímyndað mér að ég ætti eftir að upplifa þegar ég var ungur gutti í Gróttu. Það sem eftir lifir eru minningarnar, bæði þær sætu og þær sáru, og fólkið sem ég hef kynnst á leiðinni.❤️ Takk fyrir mig, Guðjón Valur Well, it‘s come to that time in my career that all athletes reach eventually. After 25 years at the senior level and 21 years in the national team, I‘ve decided to retire. At this point in my life I would like to thank all of those who have stood by me through thick and thin. Teammates, coaches, doctors, physios, team managers, supporters and all the others, including opponents. Last but not least I would like to thank my family, especially my wife and children. Þóra, Ína, Jóna and Jason, you have made this all worthwhile all these years. Handball has opened a world to me few have had the privilege to experience. What remains are the memories, the sweet and the sour, and the people I‘ve met along the way.❤️ Takk, Guðjón Valur
A post shared by Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson (@gudjonvalur9) on
Apr 29, 2020 at 3:28am PDT
But handball will not be without the wing who ended his impressive Champions League career spanning four countries with a final season at PSG – only a matter of days after Sigurdsson’s announcement, his former club VfL Gummersbach announced he would be returning to their ranks as coach.
While Sigurdsson may now have the opportunity to ease off training, there are plenty of at-home workouts still taking place. Barça’s Luka Cindric showed off the great view he enjoys while bike training.
Over in Hungary, Telekom Veszprém HC goalkeeper Vladimir Cupara is also continuing to train hard for the resumption of matches – and he is not forgetting his team colours while doing so, seeming to always work out in Veszprém’s trademark red.
As part of her handball at home training, CSM Bucuresti superstar Cristina Neagu gave us all a lesson in how to use a treadmill. Check out her pace!
There has also been some less traditional training taking place, as THW Kiel wing Magnus Landin showed us with this exercise in strength.
In Norway, Györi Audi ETO KC line player Kari Brattset has found some very isolated – and still snowy – landscape to make fitness training a little more scenic.
There may not be any handball matches on, but there are plenty of games available to handball fans on social media. Teams and national federations have kept their fans engaged with games like this one from the German Handball Federation.
The Croatian Handball Federation have been asking their fans to pick their favourite actions. Which of these two shots impresses you the most?
Missing the court, Kobenhavn Handball line player Linn Blohm reminisced with the EHF EURO, sharing one of her top goals for Sweden.
♀️❤️
A post shared by Linn Blohm (@blohmlinn) on
May 5, 2020 at 3:36am PDT
There were also acts of kindness from the handball community. After seeing a photo of a poster from a little girl, Lea, asking if anyone had seen her lost handball, Füchse Berlin captain Hans Lindberg arranged to meet Lea and her family in order to give her some of his own brand as well as an official ball of the EHF Cup.
Last but definitely not least, Rhein-Neckar Löwen had a shout out from the German Red Cross, after the club and its supporters helped to arrange food supplies for those in need.
DANK den Rhein-Neckar Löwen♂️ und der Gemeinde #EdingenNeckarhausen können wir am Dienstag, den 5. Mai von 15 bis 18 Uhr auf dem Gelände des Sportzentrums Edingen in der Mannheimer Straße 61, in Edingen-Neckarhausen, eine Lebensmittel-Sonderausgabe für Bedürftige durchführen. Mehr Infos zur #Hilfsaktion, dem Procedere und den Voraussetzungen zum Einkauf findet ihr unter: www.drk-mannheim.de/…/pr…/meldung/loewen-unterstuetzen-tafel Wir hätten da noch etwas auf dem ❤️❤️: Um unsere Tafelarbeit in #Mannheim, #Hockenheim und #EdingenNeckarhausen, auch nach der Coronakrise, aufrecht erhalten zu können, suchen wir dringend „junge“ Ehrenamtliche. Uns ist bewusst, dass junge Menschen nicht immer zu unseren Regelöffnungszeiten am Morgen oder Mittag unterstützen können. Wir arbeiten aber an neuen Konzepten und sind offen für ALLES – so wäre es für uns durchaus denkbar, die Tafeln auch am frühen Abend zu öffnen. Wer Interesse an einem ehrenamtlichen Engagement oder Fragen zur #Tafelarbeit hat kann sich im Vorfeld bei Sonja Wawszczak, unserer sozialpädagogischen Leiterin, unter ☎️Tel. 0621/3218-107 oder per E-Mail an Tafel@DRK-Mannheim.de wenden. Natürlich sind ehrenamtlich Interessierte auch eingeladen, bei der Hilfsaktion am 5. Mai vorbeizuschauen, die Löwen kennenzulernen und mit den Verantwortlichen in Kontakt zu treten. Vor Ort nehmen wir uns dann – mit etwas Abstand – gerne Zeit für euch. #DRK #DRKMannheim #DRKEdingenNeckarhausen #Ehrenamt #1team1ziel #rnl
A post shared by DRK-Kreisverband Mannheim e.V. (@drkmannheim) on
Apr 27, 2020 at 1:23am PDT
TEXT: Courtney Gahan / ew
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