| Henny Reistad | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Reistad in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Henny Ella Reistad | ||
| Born | (1999-02-09)9 February 1999 (age 26) Bærum, Norway | ||
| Nationality | Norwegian | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Left/centre back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Team Esbjerg | ||
| Number | 25 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Team | |||
| Helset IF | |||
| Senior clubs | |||
| Years | Team | ||
2015–2018 | Stabæk IF | ||
2018–2021 | Vipers Kristiansand | ||
2021– | Team Esbjerg | ||
| National team | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2018– | Norway | 109 | (478) |
Henny Ella Reistad (born 9 February 1999) is a Norwegian professionalhandball player forTeam Esbjerg and theNorwegian national team.[1][2] She is widely considered one of the best players of her generation. She is famous for her agility and ability to take on defenders in one-on-ones.
In September 2018, she was included byEHF in a list of the twenty best young handballers to watch for the future.[3]
In 2023, she was named best player in the world by theInternational Handball Federation.[4] In 2024, she won the award for the second time in a row.[5]
Reistads senior debut came on 19 December 2015, for the Norwegian first division (second tier) teamStabæk Håndbold.[6]
The same season, she and the club was promoted to the top division of Norway,Eliteserien.[7]
In 2018, she joined Norwegian top clubVipers Kristiansand.[8] Here she won the Norwegian Championship in 2019, 2020, and 2021 and the Norwegian cup in 2019. She won theEHF Champions League in 2021. In theFinal Four, she was named the MVP.[9]
In 2021, she joined Danish sideTeam Esbjerg.[10] Here she won the 2023 and 2024 Danish Championship, and the 2021 and 2022 Danish Cup.In the 2021/2022 season, she was named the best centre back in the division all star team.[11] In 2021 and 2022, she was named Danish player of the year.[12]
She represented Norway in the2017 Women's Junior European Handball Championship, placing 7th,[13] and in the2016 Women's Youth World Handball Championship, placing 4th.[14] At the U-20 World Championship, she won silver medals with the Norwegian team, and was named in the all star team.[15]
She debuted for the Norwegian national team on 22 November 2018. Her first major international tournament was the2018 European Women's Handball Championship, where she scored 18 goals.[16]
She won the2020 European Championship with the Norwegian team. In the tournament, she scored 29 goals.[17]
Same year she won bronze medals at the2020 Olympics.[18]
Reistad won a gold medal at the2021 World Women's Handball Championship and was made the All Star team as best left back.[19]
At the2022 European Championship, Norway defended their title, and Reistad was named tournament MVP.[20]
At the2023 World Championship on home soil, she won a silver medal with the Norwegian team, losing to France in the final.[21] In the semifinal against Denmark, she scored 15 goals, which is a Norwegian record for most goals scored by a single player in a World cup match and national team match.[22] Reistad was named in the tournament all star team.[23]
At the2024 Olympics, she won a gold medal with the national team, on her second attempt.[24]
In October 2024, Reistad became the team captain for theNorwegian national team.[25]
Two months later, she won her third European Championship at the2024 European Championship,[26] and made the All Star Team as best centre back.[citation needed]
Reistad is the great granddaughter of Norwegian athleteOle Reistad, who competed at the1928 Olympics inmodern pentathlon.[27]
In January 2024, Reistad donated an undisclosed amount of money to her former club,Vipers Kristiansand, which were in economic trouble.[28] Ultimately, the club would go bankrupt regardless a year later.[29][30]
MVP
All-Star Team
Others
