Brussels (AFP)
Three days after world gold, national glory: the world handball champions, coached by Frenchman Emmanuel Mayonnade, were named team of the year by the Dutch Olympic Committee on Wednesday evening.
In the final of the World Cup in Kumamoto, the Dutch beat Spain 30 to 29. Wednesday evening, in the race for distinction awarded in Amsterdam, the players of Mayonnade notably beat the Ajax Amsterdam footballers and the women's selection of soccer.
The former reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in the spring, while the latter rose to the World Cup final in early summer before being defeated by Megan's USA Rapinoe.
The handball players were initially not included in the list of teams in the running, announced in early December, when the World Championships were just getting started. After their victorious final, the Dutch Olympic Committee finally amended the rules to include them.
The sportswoman of the year trophy went to athlete Sifan Hassan, winner of the 1,500m and 10,000m at the Doha Worlds.
In men's, the cyclist Mathieu van der Poel, who won the Amstel Gold Race in the spring and reigned supreme in the cyclo-cross of the end of the year, was named sportsman of the year.
© 2019 AFP