+Sweden is class of men's handball, Hannan leads Aussie women*
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By Pat Leonard 
SportsTicker Staff Writer 

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Team handball makes its
return to the Summer Olympic Games as 12 countries will be
represented in the men's tournament and 10 for the women's
competition. 

The United States did not qualify for this event.  Four years
ago in Atlanta, the U.S. men's team finished ninth and the
women's team eighth. 

The countries competing for the men will be host Australia, 1996
silver-medal winner Sweden, bronze-medal winner Spain, Russia,
Yugoslavia, Germany, France, Egypt, Cuba, Tunisia, South Korea
and Slovenia. 

Besides Australia, which is making its Olympic handball debut,
the women's field will consist of Norway, France, Austria,
Romania, Hungary, Angola, Denmark, Brazil and South Korea. 

The Aussie women's team will feature Fiona Hannan, who suited up
for her homeland in basketball at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
Hannan, then known by her maiden name Robinson, was cut from the
national basketball team and did not want to play at the club
level. 

Hannan admitted to not having heard of handball until four years
ago, when she was dared to attend a training a session while
conducting an interview for a radio sports show.  She obliged
and later became a devoted player. 

With her selection to the Australian team, Hannan becomes the
first woman from Down Under to compete in two different sports
in consecutive Olympics. 

For the men, the team to beat will be the defending silver
medalists from Sweden.  The blue and gold captured the 1999
Handball World Championships in Cairo, Egypt, and the Euro 2000
title in Zagreb, Croatia in January, defeating a tough Russian
squad both times. 
        
The Swedes will feature Pierre Thorsson, Magnus Wislander,
Stefan Lovgren, Ljubomir Vranjes and Staffan Olsson.  It was
Olsson's goal with one minute remaining in the Euro 2000 finals
that tied the Russians at 24-24, forcing the match to go to
extra time and enabling his countrymen to win, 32-31. 
    
The Russians should once again be Sweden's toughest competition
in Sydney. Their top players are Alexandre Toutchkine, Igor
Lavrov, Serguei Pogorelov, Alexandre Toutchkine and Blazo
Lisicic. 

Other notable countries in the team handball tournament include
South Korea, which won the Asian Championships, and Spain, which
finished third at the Euro 2000 tournament. 

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