2011 World Women's Handball Championship
The 2011 World Women's Handball Championship was the 20th edition of the international championship tournament in women's Team sport handball that is governed by the International Handball Federation (IHF). Brazil hosted the event from 2–18 December 2011.
| XX Mundial Feminino de Handebol Brasil 2011 | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Brazil |
| Venue(s) | 4 (in 4 host cities) |
| Dates | 2–18 December |
| Teams | 24 (from 5 confederations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Norway (2nd title) |
| Runner-up | France |
| Third place | Spain |
| Fourth place | Denmark |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 88 |
| Goals scored | 4,643 (52.76 per match) |
| Attendance | 65,750 (747 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Alexandra do Nascimento (57 goals) |
On 18 December 2011, Norway successfully contested France 32–24 in the final. Norway was the second team to achieve a triple title cache all in the same tournament by winning the World Championship, European Championship and Olympic Games titles. Denmark had made this achievement previously. France lost, its second consecutive World Championship final (2009), to Russia.
Norway automatically qualified for the 2012 Olympic Handball tournament and 2013 World Championship. When Norway vacated their European Championship and that tournament's second place team, Sweden, automatically qualifying for the Olympics.
Spain successfully contested Denmark 24–18 in the final for the bronze and won their inaugural tournament medal. For fifth place, host nation Brazil achieved their best place at any previous tournament successfully knocking out the 2009 defending champions, Russia, 36–20.