As the 2025 IHF Women's World Championship reaches its thrilling conclusion on Sunday, the medals for the teams finishing on the podium have been unveiled. These unique awards are intertwined with the values of the competition and with the "Hands Up for More" motto and have been crafted from contributions by clubs across the Netherlands to create a lasting legacy from this historic co-hosted event.

In a groundbreaking initiative, all Dutch handball clubs were invited to donate their match jerseys, which have been repurposed into the core element of the medals. This collaborative effort ensures that every club in the Netherlands is symbolically part of the success of the 2025 IHF Women's World Championship.

 

The medals feature a distinctive hand-shaped design, symbolizing unity and strength, made from the donated jerseys fused with transparent polystyrene plastic sourced from recycled CD cases. The metallic bases are precision water-cut and milled from brass for gold and stainless steel for silver and bronze, combining durability with eco-conscious production.

The sustainable approach aligns with the IHF's commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, reducing environmental impact while honouring athletic excellence. Over 100 Dutch clubs responded to the donation call, contributing jerseys worn in local leagues and youth tournaments. The resulting medals feature the engraved IHF and World Championship branding alongside the handball-inspired motif.

 

As Norway and Germany prepare for Sunday's gold medal final in the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam, and the Netherlands and France vie for bronze, the medals are awaiting their recipients, after a dazzling competition, which put women's handball at the forefront of the sport.

The 2025 IHF Women's World Championship, co-hosted by Germany and the Netherlands, has shattered attendance records with over 330,000 fans flocking to the stands across the five venues which hosted the competition - Dortmund, Stuttgart and Trier in Germany and 's-Hertogenbosch and Rotterdam in the Netherlands.