Ole Gustav Gjekstad (born 29 November 1967) is a Norwegian

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

player and coach for

Odense Håndbold Odense Håndbold (in its first season: Odense GOG and after that Handball Club Odense) is a Danish professional women's handball team, that plays in Damehåndboldligaen, Denmark's premier women's handball league. The team's home court is Sydb ...

. As player he won the Norwegian league and cup with Sandefjord HK, and he scored more than five hundred goals for the

Norway men's national handball team The Norway men's national handball team represents Norway at international handball competitions, and is governed by the Norges Håndballforbund (NHF). As of 2024, Norway has been in two finals and won three medals. Honours In 2016, they w ...

. His achievements as coach include winning national titles, the EHF cup and the

Women's EHF Champions League The EHF Women's Champions League is the competition for the top women's handball clubs in Europe, organised annually by the European Handball Federation (EHF). It is the most prestigious tournament for clubs, with the champions of Europe's top na ...

with

Larvik HK Larvik Håndballklubb, is a professional women's handball club from Larvik, Norway. The club has won 36 titles total in both the Eliteserien (women's handball), Norwegian League and the Norwegian Women's Handball Cup, Norwegian Cup, and won the ...

, and leading the Women's club

Vipers Kristiansand Vipers Kristiansand was a professional handball club from Kristiansand, Norway. The team competed in REMA 1000-ligaen, the top division in the country, since its promotion in 2001. They claimed their first Norwegian championship in 2018, ending ...

to national titles and victories in the Women's EHF Champions League.

Playing career

Born on 29 November 1967, Gjekstad spent most of his playing career with Sandefjord HK, and won the Norwegian league and the cup with this club. From 1994 to 1996 he played for the Swiss club . He played 151 matches and scored 561 goals for the

between 1986 and 1995. He participated at the

1993 World Men's Handball Championship The 1993 World Men's Handball Championship was the 13th handball World Championship. It was held in Sweden 10–20 March. Russia men's national handball team, Russia won the championship. Qualification Teams *Note: Although the Czech Republic ...

. Gjekstad was awarded the

Håndballstatuetten Håndballstatuetten is a Norwegian Handball award given to Norwegian players who has represented the Norwegian national team. The awardee must have played at least 200 matches and played at least 60% of matches in a 6-year period. It is awarded a ...

trophy from the

Norwegian Handball Federation The Norwegian Handball Federation (, NHF) is the national handball association in Norway. The Norwegian Handball Federation was founded in 1937, and is a member of the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF) ...

in 2011.

Coaching career

Gjekstad coached women's club

1999–2005. and again from 2011–2015. Larvik HK won the

2004–05 EHF Women's Cup Winners' Cup The 2004–05 EHF Women's Cup Winners' Cup was the 29th edition of EHF's competition for women's handball national cup champions. It ran from October 8, 2004 to May 21, 2005. 1996 EHF Cup runner-up Larvik HK defeated 1996 Champions League champi ...

and the

2010–11 EHF Women's Champions League The EHF Women's Champions League 2010–11 is the 18th edition of the EHF Women's Champions League, a handball competition for top women's clubs of Europe managed by the European Handball Federation. Larvik HK won the title for the first time afte ...

with Gjekstad. With Gjekstad, Larvik HK won the Norwegian League ten times, and won eight national titles. The club placed second in the

EHF Women's Champions League The EHF Women's Champions League is the competition for the top women's team handball, handball clubs in Europe, organised annually by the European Handball Federation (EHF). It is the most prestigious tournament for clubs, with the champions of ...

in 2013 and 2015, and reached the semi final in 2002, 2004 and 2012. From 2005 to 2008, he coached the men’s club

Drammen HK Drammen Håndballklubb is a Norwegian handball team located in Drammen, Norway. They compete in REMA 1000-ligaen, which is the highest league for men's handball clubs in Norway. History The club was founded on March 3, 1992. The foundation ...

. During this period Drammen HK won the Norwegian league twice and once the Norwegian cup. From 2018 to 2023, he was coaching

. With Vipers he won the Norwegian women's league in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, and the

in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Since 2023, he has been coaching

. On 1 October 2024, Gjekstad was appointed the new head coach of the Norwegian women's national team as of January 1, 2025, following the resignation of

Þórir Hergeirsson Þórir Hergeirsson (; ; born 27 April 1964) is an Icelandic handball coach and former player. He is one of the most decorated national team coaches in handball history and won seventeen championship medals with the Norwegian women's national ...

Honours

EHF Champions League The EHF Champions League is the most important club handball competition for men's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. The competition is organised every year by EHF. The official name for the men's com ...

Best coach:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gjekstad, Ole Gustav 1967 births Living people Norwegian male handball players Norwegian handball coaches 20th-century Norwegian sportsmen