Paris-born Blonz, Norway's unlikely hero in perfect start at Paris 2024

Since his debut in the Norway men’s national senior team, Alexandre Blonz has emerged as a very reliable left wing, quickly emerging as the first option on that position for coach Jonas Wille.

Blonz made his debut in 2019, when he was only 19 years old, and was one of the members of the team which clinched the silver medal at the 2019 IHF Men’s World Championship. One year later, Norway were flying high, but dropped their level in the semi-finals of the EHF EURO 2020, eventually settling for the bronze medal.

But since then, Norway has somewhat disappeared off the radar, being always between the top-10 teams in major international competitions, but always conceding losses in the quarter-finals. It happened at the 2021 and 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship, a pill hard to swallow for the Scandinavian side. 

Yet this time, things look different. In the men’s handball competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Norway have delivered three wins in a row to start the tournament, their best-ever start at the Olympics in history.

“It is a very hard competition, if you look, you will see that most of the matches are very tight, very balanced. We only had two appearances before, I think, no? But now we are qualified to the quarter-finals. So now we have two games that the results really don't matter. So we can make ourselves easy and try to improve our level of humble towards the quarter-finals,” says Blonz.

The 24-year-old left wing is not only Norway’s best scorer after the first three matches at Paris 2024, scoring 17 times from 19 shots, for a superb 89% shooting efficiency, being a super reliable player in times of need. Blonz is also the player who brought Norway the 26:25 last-gasp win against Hungary, converting the final shot of the match, as the buzzer went off.

With eight seconds to go in the match, Hungary had the chance to win, as Bence Imre went on a fast break, but missed the one-on-one chance with Norway’s goalkeeper, Torbjorn Bergerud. Immediately, the Scandinavian side replied, the ball was in Blonz’s possession with four seconds to go and the left wing delivered a perfect shot, to lift his team to the third win in the competition, 26:25.

“First of all, I was mad because we did an error or something and lost possesion. And then they got an easy fast break. And then Torbjorn saves. And luckily for us, the ball goes straight up in the air so he can catch it fast. And then I see the Hungarians make actually quite a big mistake from them. Because they are not paying attention to the clock, they were all dejected. They are having their hands on their head. So I'm standing there completely free. So it was the perfect for me and for us, as a team,” adds Blonz.

Paris 2024 is the first edition of the Olympics for Blonz, who is coming of age in the competition. And with the Olympics being held in the French capital, the debut brings even more emotion for the left wing.

His father, Tristan, is French. And Alexandre was born in Clamart, a small commune near the French capital, just five kilometres away from the South Paris Arena 6, where Blonz scored his fantastic last-gasp goal to gift Norway their second quarter-finals berth in the team’s history at the Olympics.

“Well, it's more special to play the Olympics than it is to play the Olympics in France. So it's my first edition of the Olympics and I'm enjoying it very much. And I hope we can keep on going and winning some more games,” added the left wing.

That is not the only connection Blonz has with France. His grandfather, Kjell Kris Christoffersen, also played handball in the country where the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are hosted. And the number of the Norway left wing’s back, 71, is a tribute to him, as his late grandfather passed away aged 71.

With everything falling in place, Blonz will now be focusing on the next matches, against Egypt and Denmark. While Norway secured a quarter-finals berth already, finishing as high as possible in the Group B of the preliminary round of the Paris 2024 is a must, to avoid a powerhouse from the other group.

So far, Norway have never secured a medal or made it into the semi-finals at the Olympics. This might just be the time when the Scandinavian side is supposed to shine. And with Blonz in such a form, they will be difficult to stop.

“It will be a tough fight. It is only just one day. In the quarter-finals, it’s one match. Win it and you have the chance for a medal,” concludes Blonz.