In their third consecutive appearance at the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, Switzerland are on par to secure their best finish in history, after ending up 21st in 2022 and 14th in 2024.

Their focus on youth, by picking the right players and developing them, in an academy – Concordia Handball-Akademie – which was inaugurated in 2020is the base of the pyramid for this growth.

Since then, Switzerland have produced some players with a fantastic potential, such as wings Mia Emmenegger and Era Baumann, or line player Tabea Schmid, who have already made their debuts at the senior level in the IHF Women’s World Championship.

But now, a new generation is emerging and their first two outings at the 2026 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship were positive: a 31:28 win against Slovenia and a 28:14 win against Algeria, helping Switzerland edge closer to a place in the main round.

 

One of the main contributors for these results was left wing Lauryn Mierzwa, who scored 18 goals from 20 shots, putting 14 past Slovenia and four past Algeria, while playing only 18 minutes in the match against the African side.

“Of course I am over the moon with these two results, because the wins are helping us. Against Algeria, maybe we have our share of errors, some technical faults and some misses, but it was still a win and we are looking forward for the match against Serbia and try to win it,” says Mierzwa.

Born on 29 December 2009, the left wing is still only 16 years old and has been practicing with the Concordia Handball-Akademie for a year, before moving to LC Brühl, one of the best teams in Switzerland.

She was also part of the Switzerland Under-16 women’s team which made history back in 2024, when they won the Women's 16 European Open 2024, in a dramatic final against Germany, decided on penalties, 34:31.

But for Mierzwa, the fact that she is able to represent her national team is the most important thing, as well as learning from the best in the country, as she was able to train with Emmenegger or Baumann over the past years. 

“My dream, of course, is to get to play for the A team, for the senior team, because this would be absolutely fantastic, to be able to represent my country in the top competitions. Yet I am delighted to be here and learn more and more about handball and become a better player,” says the left wing.

But with the handball gene in the family, Lauryn could not have been anything but a handball player.

 

“I was in the halls since I was very little and I started handball when I was just a few years old,” smiles the left wing, whose 18 goals place her on the second place on the provisional top scorer standings at Romania 2026.

This is mainly because she hails from a handball family. Her father, Alexander Mierzwa, was a player who featured at TV Großwallstadt and VfL Gummersbach before moving to Switzerland and playing for Pfadi Winterthur and HSC Kreuzlingen. He also played 14 matches for the Germany national team and was in the roster for the European Championship in 2000.

Her mother, Caroline, was also a line player, who featured for LC Brühl, in the Champions League and the EHF Cup.

And her brother, Niclas, has also been representing Switzerland at this level, being a part of the team which finished 11th at the 2025 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship.

Niclas, a left wing himself, was the team’s top scorer with 53 goals, and had an 84% shooting efficiency, being key for the success of the Switzerland team. Three years older than Lauryn, he also made his debut for the senior national team in October 2025.

 

“They never pushed me to play handball or told me to do it. It just came natural, and I liked it, because, I was in the halls since I was very little. But, of course, it was something that they helped me with,” says Mierzwa.

“And my brother, Niclas, yes, he is a model, and we both try to be the best we can in this sport.”