Rikke Skov

Rikke Erhardsen Skov (born 7 September 1980) is a former Danish team handball player and Olympic champion. She received a gold medal with the Danish national team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.[1] A loyal player of Viborg HK, Skov joined the club yet as a teenager in 1994 and it remained her lone team till she retired in 2016 and retired from active sports when she became pregnant in February 2017.[2]

Rikke Skov
Personal information
Full name Rikke Erhardsen Skov
Born (1980-09-07) 7 September 1980
Viborg, Denmark
Nationality Danish
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position Left back
Club information
Current club Viborg HK
Number 2
Senior clubs
Years Team
1994–2016
 Viborg HK
National team 1
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2016
 Denmark 152 (384)
Medal record
Olympic Games
2004 AthensTeam
European Championship
2004 Hungary
1 National team caps and goals correct
as of 5 November 2015

In 2011, she was one of the five handballers, and the only woman who received The EHF Handball Award. The prize was handed out in the 20th anniversary of the European Handball Federation for the players who achieved the biggest successes both in club and international level.[3]

Club career

Skov started her handball career in 1992, aged 12. She played for Overlund GF until she joined Viborg HK in 1994.[4] With Viborg, Skov has won numerous titles, both domestic and European. Her achievements include winning the Champions League in 2006, 2009 and 2010, the EHF Cup in 1999 and 2004, four Danish Cups and seven Danish Championships.

National team

Rikke Skov made her debut with the national team on 28 July 2000, and was appointed team captain in 2007.[5] She received an Olympic gold medal in Athens 2004 and a silver medal at the 2004 European Championship. Skov first retired from international handball in April 2009,[6] until when she played 107 matches and scored 296 goals.[7] However, Skov later changed her mind and participated on the 2010 European Women's Handball Championship, where she reached the fourth place.[8] In 2011, she continued to play for the national team and participated among others on the GF World Cup '11, but before the squad selection for the 2011 World Championship she withdrew from the team to focus fully on her club duties.[9] On Friday 29 April she announced that she ended her national team career.

Results
  • Champions League
Winner: 2006, 2009, 2010
Finalist: 2001
  • EHF Cup
Winner: 1999 and 2004
  • Danish Championship
Gold: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014
Silver: 2007
Bronze: 2005
  • Danish Cup
Winner: 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008

Awards
  • Danish national team player of the year (Danish: Årets Landsholdsspiller) in 2006/07[10] and 2007/08[11]
  • Member of the All Star Team of the Møbelringen Cup 2008[12]
  • The EHF Handball Award winner (2011)

Personal life

Skove met fellow handballer Lotte Kiærskou as teammates for Viborg HK, and "never had any thought to keep their relationship secret."[13] They were in a registered partnership as allowed by Danish law.[13] but split in 2011.[14] Kiærskou, now retired, gave birth to the ex-couple’s two daughters.[14]

In 2005, Skov became a nurse. [15]

References
  1. "2004 Summer Olympics – Athens, Greece – Handball" Archived 2008-04-07 at the Wayback Machine – databaseOlympics.com (Retrieved on February 25, 2008)
  2. "Håndboldlegenden Rikke Skov indstiller karrieren". DR. 18 February 2017.
  3. Pazen, Björn (17 November 2011). "Playing legends honoured at EHF 20th Anniversary". European Handball Federation. Eurohandball.com. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  4. "Liga: Spillerprofiler, damer - Rikke Erhardsen Skov" (in Danish). Viborg Håndbold Klub. Archived from the original on February 5, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  5. Dreisig, Louise (15 October 2007). "Rikke Skov ny anfører" (in Danish). Danish Handball Federation. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  6. Mackay, Ingrid (6 April 2009). "Rikke Skov stopper på landshold" (in Danish). TV 2. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
  7. "Spillerstatistik" (in Danish). Danish Handball Federation. Archived from the original on January 18, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  8. "9th Women's European Handball Championship, Euro 2010, Bronze Medal Match. DEN 15-16 ROU" (PDF). European Handball Federation. 19 December 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  9. Zafirovski, Borjan (2 November 2011). "Rikke Skov withdraws from Danish NT". Handball Planet. handball-planet.com. Archived from the original on 3 November 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  10. "Rikke Skov er Årets Damelandsholdspiller" (in Danish). Danish Handball Federation. 6 June 2007. Archived from the original on January 18, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  11. "Rikke Skov er Årets Spiller" (in Danish). DR. 26 July 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  12. Andresen, Svein (23 November 2008). "All Star Team Møbelringen Cup 2008" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Handball Federation. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  13. 2012 Olympics: Who Are The LGBT Athletes? Day Twenty — Rikke Skov Archived 2014-02-21 at the Wayback Machine
  15. "Rikke Skov". Politiken.dk. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
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