1998 World handball players of the year: Trine Haltvik (NOR) and Daniel Stephan(GER)

The World Handball Magazine’s readers and other handball fans have made their decision: Trine Haltvik from Norway and Daniel Stephan from Germany are the 1998 World Handball Players of the Year.

The search for the two World Handball Players has again broken all records. Never before in the history of this readers’ vote, which is substantially supported by sports goods producer adidas, did so many votes arrive in the IHF’s General Secretariat in Basel. For the first time the Internet as a medium played a big part - numerous votes reached Basel as e-mails. But the postman also had plenty of work on account of this world-wide vote, as the fans supported "their" personal star by bundles at a time in fat envelopes.

And they once more showed their expert knowledge. In Trine Haltvik and Daniel Stephan two protagonists were elected for 1998 (a year which saw no world championships) who had both left their imprint on the European Championships. Die 35-year-old from Trondheim and the 25-year-old from Lemgo have more than their team’s playmaker position in common. Both are exceptionally popular and charismatic representatives of their sport in their home countries.

Both Norway’s women’s handball and Germany’s men’s handball registered important successes last year. As European Champions Norway finally won their first important international title. With their third place at the European Championships Germany ended a long dry stretch on the international stage. The vote could possibly also represent recognition for these team efforts, to which both Haltvik and Stephan contributed decisively. The joy will also be great in Norway and Germany for a different reason, for the most highly sought after individual distinction in world handball is going to these countries for the first time.

You will find the results of the reader’s vote below.