In the last match of the preliminary round of the men’s handball competition at Paris 2024, Spain took a 32:31 win against Croatia. In the quarter-finals, “Los Hispanos” needed extra-time to down Egypt, 29:28. The semi-finals saw Spain concede a 24:25 loss against Germany.

And then, in the bronze medal match, with everything on the line, Spain went toe-to-toe with Slovenia to take a 23:22. Apart from the clear common denominator between these matches – Spain being one of the teams – there is another one: each of these matches have been decided by a single goal.

In three of them, Spain won. In the other, the crucial semi-final against Germany, they just fell short. But one thing is for certain: Spain’s matches at Paris 2024 have not been for the fainthearted. In fact, Spain’s biggest win came against Japan, 37:33. Another one came against Slovenia, in the preliminary round, 25:22.

“Easy games no es possible for us,” said a visibly excited Agustin Casado, Spain’s centre back, after the bronze medal match, mixing English and Spanish, but enough for everybody to understand what he is talking about.

Sure, it has not been pretty. Sure, it has not come as easy as Spain would have wanted. But now, the Spain men’s handball team has the joint-largest number of medals in the history of the country at the Olympics in team sports as the football team – five. And one more than the basketball side.

“For us, this is a crucial medal. It is a happy day for Spanish handball. It is a happy day for the sport in our country. And it shows we can go further and further. We have some good results in the younger age categories and this can serve as a proper motivation for others,” added coach Jordi Ribera.

2024 has not been a vintage year for “Los Hispanos”, who went out early at the EHF EURO 2024, being eliminated in the preliminary round for the first time in 22 years. They almost missed out on a berth for the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, but eventually edged out Serbia, 54:53 on aggregate. 

The only thing that went really well was the Paris 2024 Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournament, with three wins and three matches, where Ribera resorted once again to a group of veterans, like Antonio Garcia Robledo, Viran Morros and Joan Canellas to push them over the line.

None of the three was in the roster at Paris 2024, with Canellas being a late scratch due to an injury, which basically ended his career. But with a mix of experience from Gonzalo Perez de Vargas, Alex Dujshebaev or Aleix Gomez, and some youth energy from Javier Rodriguez and Daniel Fernandez, “Los Hispanos” finally found the right balance.

"It looks like we like drama. We don't like it, but it's like that. We are mentally so strong, and we are always there until the end. We never give up, we never fall, we always do our best and if we lose it's not without a fight," says Alex Dujshebaev.

For the right back, it was the second Olympics bronze medal in his career, after Tokyo 2020. And the seventh with Spain in the last eight years in major international competitions, with two golds and one silver at the EHF EURO and other two bronze medals at the IHF Men’s World Championship.

"It's an amazing feeling. We didn't deserve to leave here without a medal. The team performance was amazing. We fought until the end in every game, in every single minute of every game. It's a great achievement for our country," added Dujshebaev.

Of course, the loss against Germany, which would have seen Spain make it to the Olympics final for the first time in history was devastating. “The routine needed to be changed a little, because we needed to be at full strength and we did not have a normal handball training,” says Ribera.

“But we always have been trying to get a bit of edge with the tactical choices and improve our chances to win. I think we also did that against Slovenia, which are a fantastic team,” added Spain’s coach.

But for a team which won three matches by a single goal and fought through thick and thin, with many changes in the squad, trying to get younger players in, Spain really outdid themselves at Paris 2024.

And while it might not have been the gold, the spirit and grit of these “Hispanos” really shined through. Just as the sportsmanship, underlining the Olympic spirit, proven by Gonzalo Perez de Vargas, who spent minutes after the final whistle trying to console his club teammate, Blaz Janc, and former teammate, Jure Dolenec. 

“It is just normal, there is not much to say, but losing can be difficult,” concluded Spain’s captain.