Rikke Skov

Rikke Skov
Personal information
Full nameRikke Erhardsen Skov
Born7 September 1980
Viborg, Denmark
NationalityDanish
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing positionLeft back
Club information
Current clubViborg HK
Number2
Senior clubs
1994–Viborg HK
National team 1
2000–2011Denmark122 (344)
1 National team caps and goals correct
as of 1 November 2011

Rikke Skov (born 7 September 1980) is a Danish handball player and Olympic champion. She received a gold medal with the Danish national team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.[1] A loyal player of Viborg HK, Skov joined the club yet as a teenager and it remained her lone team up to date.

In 2011 she was one of the five handballers, and the only woman who received The EHF Handball Award. The prize was handed out in the 20th anniversary of the European Handball Federation for the players who achieved the biggest successes both in club and international level.[2]

Club career

Skov started her handball career in 1992, aged 12. She played for Overlund GF until she joined Viborg HK in 1994.[3] With Viborg, Skov has won numerous titles, both domestic and European. Her achievements include winning the Champions League in 2006, 2009 and 2010, the EHF Cup in 1999 and 2004, four Danish Cups and seven Danish Championships.

National team

Rikke Skov made her debut with the national team on 28 July 2000, and was appointed team captain in 2007.[4] She received an Olympic gold medal in Athens 2004 and a silver medal at the 2004 European Championship. Skov first retired from international handball in April 2009,[5] until when she played 107 matches and scored 296 goals.[6] However, Skov later changed her mind and participated on the 2010 European Women's Handball Championship, where she reached the fourth place.[7] In 2011 she continued to play for the national team and participated among others on the GF World Cup '11, but before the squad selection for the 2011 World Championship she withdrew from the team to focus fully on her club duties.[8]

Results

Winner: 2006, 2009, 2010
Finalist: 2001
Winner: 1999 and 2004
Gold: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010
Silver: 2007
Bronze: 2005
Winner: 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008

Awards

Personal life

Skove met fellow handballer Lotte Kiærskou as teammates for Viborg HK, and "never had any thought to keep their relationship secret."[12] The two have been together since, and are in a registered partnership as allowed by Danish law.[12] Kiærskou, now retired, gave birth to the couple’s two daughters.[12]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rikke Skov.
  1. ↑ "2004 Summer Olympics – Athens, Greece – Handball" – databaseOlympics.com (Retrieved on February 25, 2008)
  2. ↑ Pazen, Björn (17 November 2011). "Playing legends honoured at EHF 20th Anniversary". European Handball Federation (Eurohandball.com). Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  3. ↑ "Liga: Spillerprofiler, damer - Rikke Erhardsen Skov" (in Danish). Viborg Håndbold Klub. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  4. ↑ Dreisig, Louise (15 October 2007). "Rikke Skov ny anfører" (in Danish). Danish Handball Federation. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  5. ↑ Mackay, Ingrid (6 April 2009). "Rikke Skov stopper på landshold" (in Danish). TV 2. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
  6. ↑ "Spillerstatistik" (in Danish). Danish Handball Federation. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  7. ↑ "9th Women's European Handball Championship, Euro 2010, Bronze Medal Match. DEN 15-16 ROU" (PDF). European Handball Federation. 19 December 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  8. ↑ Zafirovski, Borjan (2 November 2011). "Rikke Skov withdraws from Danish NT". Handball Planet (handball-planet.com). Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  9. ↑ "Rikke Skov er Årets Damelandsholdspiller" (in Danish). Danish Handball Federation. 6 June 2007. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  10. ↑ "Rikke Skov er Årets Spiller" (in Danish). DR. 26 July 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  11. ↑ Andresen, Svein (23 November 2008). "All Star Team Møbelringen Cup 2008" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Handball Federation. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 2012 Olympics: Who Are The LGBT Athletes? Day Twenty — Rikke Skov