Handball at the 1936 Summer Olympics — overview of handball practiced at the 1936 Olympic Summer Games
Field handball made its Olympic debut at the 1936 Berlin Games, the only time the outdoor 11-player format appeared in Olympic competition.
Key Facts
- Olympic debut
- First appearance of handball at the Olympics
- Competing teams
- 6 teams
- Players per side
- 11 players
- Group format
- Two groups of three teams
- Playing surface
- Outdoors (field handball)
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Field handball had grown in popularity across Europe during the early twentieth century, prompting the International Olympic Committee to include the outdoor 11-player version of the sport on the program for the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics, the first time handball was recognised as an Olympic discipline.
Six national teams competed in field handball at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, divided into two groups of three. Each team played its group opponents once, with the top two from each group advancing to a final round and the remaining teams contesting fifth place. Final standings were determined by records in the final-round matches.
Germany won the inaugural Olympic handball tournament on home soil. The outdoor 11-player format was subsequently dropped from the Olympic program and did not return; indoor handball, with six field players per side, was later reintroduced at the 1972 Munich Games, becoming the standard Olympic format.
Result
at Berlin, Germany