BIOGRAPHY
Cecilie Leganger was born in Bergen and began playing handball locally aged 13. She quickly made an impact and was part of the Norwegian junior team which won the W17 EHF EURO in 1992.
The following year she made her senior debut, still aged 17, at the 1993 IHF Women’s World Championship. Norway won bronze thanks partly to Leganger’s outstanding performance that saw her named MVP of the tournament as well as All-star Team goalkeeper; she would win three more All-star Team places at the 1995, 1999 and 2001 World Championships as well as All-star Team goalkeeper at the EHF EURO in 1994 and 1998. Leganger was also chosen as IHF World Player of the Year in 2001.
Leganger played a total of 162 matches for Norway during her career, winning World Championship gold in 1999 and EHF EURO gold in 1998 along with several minor medals.
She also had a glittering club career. That began with two Cup Winners’ Cup titles with Bækkelagets, before she spent two years at Krim and then joined the ‘dream team’ at Slagelse in Denmark. There, Leganger helped Slagelse to their two EHF Champions League titles in 2005 and 2007. She would win a third for Larvik in 2011.
Leganger declined selection for the London 2012 Olympic Games, and announced her retirement in 2014 with five Norwegian, one Danish and one Slovenian championship to add to her extensive trophy collection. But her legacy lives on as one of the greatest modern goalkeepers.
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