| Size: | 150 |
| Code: | HBL |
| Sport: | handball |
| Menevents: | 1 |
| Womenevents: | 1 |
Handball at the Summer Olympics refers to two different sports. Field handball was introduced for men at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, but dropped after that. At the 1952 Olympics, field handball was a demonstration sport. (Indoor) handball was introduced for men at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Women's handball competition was introduced at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.[1]
| Year | Host | Gold medal match | Bronze medal match | Teams | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold medalists | Score | Silver medalists | Bronze medalists | Score | 4th-place finishers | ||||||
| 1936[2] Details | Berlin | Round robin | Round robin | 6 | |||||||
| 1972 Details | Munich | 21–16 | 19–16 | 16 | |||||||
| 1976 Details |  Montreal | 19–15 | 21–18 | 12 | |||||||
| 1980 Details | Moscow | 23–22 (ET) | 20–18 | 12 | |||||||
| 1984 Details |  Los Angeles | 18–17 | 23–19 | 12 | |||||||
| 1988 Details | Seoul | 32–25 | 27–23 | 12 | |||||||
| 1992 Details |  Barcelona | Unified Team | 22–20 | 24–20 | 12 | ||||||
| 1996 Details | Atlanta | 27–26 | 27–25 | 12 | |||||||
| 2000 Details |  Sydney | 28–26 | 26–22 | 12 | |||||||
| 2004 Details |  Athens | 26–24 | 28–26 | 12 | |||||||
| 2008 Details |  Beijing | 28–23 | 35–29 | 12 | |||||||
| 2012 Details | London | 22–21 | 33–26 | 12 | |||||||
| 2016 Details |  Rio de Janeiro | 28–26 | 31–25 | 12 | |||||||
| 2020 Details |  Tokyo | 25–23 | 33–31 | 12 | |||||||
| 2024 Details |  Paris | 39–26 | 23–22 | 12 | |||||||
| 2028 Details | Los Angeles | 12 | |||||||||
| 2032 Details | Brisbane | 12 | |||||||||
| width=170 | Nation | 1936 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 |  1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 |  2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 | 2028 | 2032 | Years | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • | • | • | 10th | 12th | 10th | • | 10th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 4 | |||||||
| • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 10th | 10th | 12th | 12th | 4 | |||||||
| • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 12th | • | • | • | • | • | • | Q | 2 | ||||||
| bgcolor=silver | 2nd | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 1 | ||||||
| • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 8th | • | 1 | |||||||
| • | • | • | • | • | • | 12th | 11th | • | 10th | 11th | • | 7th | 10th | • | 6 | |||||||
| • | • | 11th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 1 | |||||||
| • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 12th | • | • | • | • | 1 | |||||||
| Part of | • | bgcolor=gold | 1st | • | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 4th | 3rd | 5th | • | 9th | 6 | ||||||||||
| • | • | • | 11th | • | • | • | • | 11th | • | • | • | • | • | • | 2 | |||||||
| • | 13th | 8th | 9th | 4th | • | • | • | • | • | 7th | 6th | bgcolor=gold | 1st | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 9 | ||||
| • | • | • | • | • | • | 11th | 6th | 7th | 12th | 10th | • | 9th | 4th | 5th | 8 | |||||||
| • | • | • | • | • | • | 3rd | 4th | 6th | 5th | bgcolor=gold | 1st | bgcolor=gold | 1st | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 8th | 9 | |||
| 1st | See and | 10th | 7th | 5th | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 9th | • | 3rd | 6th | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 9 | |||||||||
| • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 12th | • | • | • | 1 | |||||||
| • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 6th | • | • | • | • | • | 1 | |||||||
| 4th | 8th | 6th | 4th | • | 4th | 7th | • | • | 4th | • | 4th | • | • | 10th | 9 | |||||||
| • | 12th | • | • | 6th | 8th | 4th | • | • | 9th | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 5th | • | • | • | 7 | ||||||
| • | 11th | 9th | • | 10th | 11th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 11th | 11th | 6 | |||||||
| • | • | • | 12th | • | • | • | 12th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 2 | |||||||
| • | 9th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 7th | 6th | 3 | |||||||
| • | 10th | 3rd | 7th | • | • | • | • | • | • | 5th | • | 4th | • | • | 5 | |||||||
| • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 9th | • | 1 | |||||||
| • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 8th | • | • | 1 | |||||||
| 5th | 3rd | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | • | 8th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 6 | ||||||
| See | 5th | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 3rd | 6th | • | • | • | • | 4 | ||||||||||||
| See | See | • | 9th | • | • | • | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Part of | • | • | 8th | 11th | • | • | 6th | • | 4th | 4 | ||||||||||||
| • | • | • | • | 11th | 2nd | 6th | • | 9th | 8th | 8th | 11th | • | • | • | 7 | |||||||
| • | 15th | • | 5th | 8th | 9th | 5th | 3rd | 3rd | 7th | 3rd | 7th | • | 3rd | 3rd | 12 | |||||||
| • | 7th | • | • | 5th | 5th | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | • | • | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 11th | 5th | 7th | 10 | |||
| 3rd | • | • | 8th | 7th | • | • | 8th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 4 | |||||||
| • | 16th | WD | • | • | • | • | • | 10th | • | • | 8th | 12th | • | • | 5 | |||||||
| 6th | 14th | 10th | • | 9th | 12th | • | 9th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | Q | 7 | ||||||
| Discontinued nations | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 7th | • | • | 6th | 9th | See | 4 | |||||||||||||
| 4th | • | bgcolor=gold | 1st | • | 7th | See | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| See | • | • | 4th | • | See | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| • | 5th | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 2nd | • | bgcolor=gold | 1st | bgcolor=gold | 1st | See | 5 | |||||||||||
| 6th | 4th | • | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | • | See | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| • | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 5th | 6th | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 3rd | See | See | 5 | ||||||||||||
| Total | 6 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | |||||
| Year | Host | Gold medal match | Bronze medal match | Teams | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold medalists | Score | Silver medalists | Bronze medalists | Score | 4th-place finishers | |||||||
| 1976 Details | Montreal | Round robin | Round robin | 6 | ||||||||
| 1980 Details | Moscow | Round robin | Round robin | 6 | ||||||||
| 1984 Details | Los Angeles | Round robin | Round robin | 6 | ||||||||
| 1988 Details | Seoul | Round robin | Round robin | 8 | ||||||||
| 1992 Details | Barcelona | 28–21 | Unified Team | 24–20 | 8 | |||||||
| 1996 Details | Atlanta | 37–33 (ET) | 20–18 | 8 | ||||||||
| 2000 Details | Sydney | 31–27 | 22–21 | 10 | ||||||||
| 2004 Details | Athens | 34–34 (ET, pen: 4–2) | 21–18 | 10 | ||||||||
| 2008 Details | Beijing | 34–27 | 33–28 | 12 | ||||||||
| 2012 Details | London | 26–23 | 31–29 | 12 | ||||||||
| 2016 Details | Rio de Janeiro | 22–19 | 36–26 | 12 | ||||||||
| 2020 Details | Tokyo | 30–25 | 36–19 | 12 | ||||||||
| 2024 Details | Paris | 29–21 | 30–25 | 12 | ||||||||
| 2028 Details | Los Angeles | 12 | ||||||||||
| 2032 Details | Brisbane | 12 | ||||||||||
| width=170 | Nation | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 | 2028 | 2032 | Years | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • | • | • | • | • | 7th | 9th | 9th | 12th | 10th | 8th | 10th | 9th | 8 | ||||||||
| • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 12th | • | • | 1 | ||||||||
| • | • | • | • | • | • | 10th | • | • | • | • | • | • | Q | 2 | |||||||
| • | • | 6th | • | 5th | • | 5th | • | • | • | • | • | • | 3 | ||||||||
| • | • | • | • | • | • | 8th | 7th | 9th | 6th | 5th | 11th | 7th | 7 | ||||||||
| 6th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 1 | ||||||||
| • | • | 3rd | 6th | • | 5th | • | 8th | 6th | • | • | • | • | 5 | ||||||||
| • | 6th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 1 | ||||||||
| Part of | • | • | • | • | • | 7th | • | • | • | 1 | |||||||||||
| • | • | • | • | • | bgcolor=gold | 1st | bgcolor=gold | 1st | bgcolor=gold | 1st | • | 9th | • | • | 3rd | 5 | |||||
| • | • | • | • | • | • | 6th | 4th | 5th | 5th | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 2nd | 7 | ||||||
| See and | 4th | 6th | • | • | 11th | • | • | • | 8th | 4 | |||||||||||
| • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 12th | • | • | • | 1 | ||||||||
| • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 10th | • | • | • | • | • | 1 | ||||||||
| 3rd | 4th | • | • | • | 3rd | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 5th | 4th | • | • | 7th | 6th | 8 | |||||||
| • | • | • | 8th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 1 | ||||||||
| 5th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 12th | • | 2 | ||||||||
| Part of | • | • | • | 10th | • | • | • | • | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Part of | Part of | • | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 11th | 6th | • | 3 | |||||||||||||
| • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 4th | 5th | 5th | 3 | ||||||||
| • | • | • | • | 8th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 1 | ||||||||
| • | • | • | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 4th | 3rd | • | bgcolor=gold | 1st | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 3rd | 3rd | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 9 | |||
| 4th | • | • | • | • | • | 7th | • | 7th | • | 9th | • | • | 4 | ||||||||
| See | • | • | • | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 8th | bgcolor=gold | 1st | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | • | 4 | |||||||||
| Part of | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 11th | 1 | |||||||||||
| • | • | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 1st | bgcolor=gold | 1st | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 4th | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 10th | 8th | 10th | 11 | ||||
| • | • | • | • | 7th | • | • | 6th | • | 3rd | 6th | 9th | 12th | 6 | ||||||||
| • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 8th | 11th | 7th | 4th | 4th | 5 | ||||||||
| Part of | • | • | 3rd | • | • | • | • | • | 1 | ||||||||||||
| • | • | 5th | 7th | 6th | 8th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | Q | 5 | |||||||
| Discontinued nations | |||||||||||||||||||||
| • | 5th | • | 5th | • | See | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 3rd | • | • | See | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| bgcolor=gold | 1st | 1st | • | 3rd | 3rd | See | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| • | • | 4th | • | See | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| • | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 4th | See | See | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Total | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | ||||||
The table below include teams under the name they had at the time.[3] When the Soviet Union broke up in 1991 they played one last tournament in 1992 as the Unified Team, which they won for the men and got a bronze medal for the women. Russia is a break-away from the Soviet Union and ROC is Russia under another name. Croatia is a break-away from Yugoslavia, which ceased to exist in 1992. German Democratic Republic and West Germany were created after World War II. They were united into Germany in 1990.