Danish Women and Finnish Men Win Goalball Euro Championships

The Danish women were able to capture gold in the 2011 IBSA Goalball European Championships on their own stomping grounds in Assens, Denmark, last weekend, and with it came a place in the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Denmark defeated Russia in the finals, 4-3, on Saturday (22 October) as Karina Jorgensen scored the decisive goal just days after Denmark had already beaten Russia in the preliminary round, 2-0.

Sweden beat Spain in the women’s bronze-medal game, 3-2.

In the men’s competition, Finland put on a dominating performance in the gold-medal contest after going undefeated in the preliminary stage, taking advantage of Lithuania’s defensive errors to cruise to a 9-3 victory for the title.

Sweden beat Turkey, 5-2, in the men’s bronze-medal game. As Finland, Lithuania, Turkey and eighth-place finisher Belgium had already qualified for London 2012, Sweden earned the one spot up for grabs as the highest finisher that had not yet qualified.

Denmark was the sole qualifier on the women’s side, while Sweden, Finland and Great Britain had already earned their spots.

The Championships were the biggest heartbreaker for Russia, which barely lost out on the gold but also did not qualify for London 2012 despite a second-place finish.