Valérie Nicolas (born 12 March 1975) is a French

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic 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 throwing it into the g ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

and former player of the French national team. She became World Champion in 2003 with the French team, and was also voted

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

and Best Goalkeeper. She was voted into the All-Star Team in the 2007 World Championship. Among her other triumphs are a silver medal from the World Championships, two bronze medals from the European Championships, victories at the Champions League, the

EHF Cup The EHF European League is an annual men's handball club competition organised by the European Handball Federation (EHF) since 1981. It is the second-tier competition of European club handball, ranking only below the EHF Champions League. Previ ...

, the

Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

, and both French and Danish national championships.

Club career

Nicolas was born in

Lampaul-Guimiliau Lampaul-Guimiliau (; br, Lambaol-Gwimilio) is a commune in the Finistère department and administrative region of Brittany in north-western France. It is noted for its parish close. Etymology The place name element ''lan'' or ''lam'' (''llan'' ...

Finistère Finistère (, ; br, Penn-ar-Bed ) is a department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.

, and started her professional career in USM Gagny. From 1995 to 2003 she played for top club

ES Besançon Es, ES, or similar may refer to: Arts and entertainment * An alternate name for the musical note E♭ (E-flat) * '' E's'', a manga series by Satoru Yuiga * ''Es'' (film), the German title of ''It'', a 1966 West German film directed by Ulrich Scha ...

. With Besançon she won the French Championship in 1998 and in 2001, and the French Cup in 2001 and 2002. In 2003, she won the French Championship, the French Cup and the

. After this successful season, she moved to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

to play for

Viborg HK Viborg HK (Viborg Håndbold Klub) is the name of a Danish handball club from Viborg. The club has many teams for both women and men, but especially the professional women's team is one of the most successful in Danish and European handball sin ...

. She stayed at Viborg from 2003 to 2007, winning two Danish Championships (in 2004 and 2006), two Danish Cups, the Champions League in 2006 and the

in 2004. She then played for Ikast/Bording EH one season, 2007/08, before returning to France to play for N2 (French fourth division) club ASPTT Nice.

National team

Nicolas made her debut on the French national team in 1995. Until her retirement from the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...

in 2008 (after the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

), Valérie Nicolas played 234 international matches. In 1997 she finishted 10th at the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. She won a silver medal at the 1999 World Championship, after a final match between France and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

, which needed two overtimes to break the tie, ending 25-24 to Norway. In 2000, she finished 6th at the Olympics in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, and 5th at the European Championship. She finished fifth at the 2001 World Championship with the French team, and won a bronze medal at the

2002 European Women's Handball Championship The 2002 EHF European Women's Handball Championship was held in Denmark from 6–15 December. It was won by Denmark after beating Norway 25–22 in the final match. Venues The European Championships was held in the following cities: *Helsinge (Pr ...

. She won a gold medal with the French team at the 2003 World Championship, and was voted

and All-Star Team goalkeeper at the championship. At the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

she finished fourth with the national team. She finished 12th at the 2005 World Championship in Russia, and won a bronze medal at the

2006 European Women's Handball Championship The 2006 EHF European Women's Handball Championship was held in Sweden from 7 to 17 December. It was won by Norway women's national handball team, Norway after beating Russia women's national handball team, Russia 27–24 in the final match. This ...

. At the 2007 World Championship in France, where the French team placed fifth, her performance was recognized again, and she was selected a member of the All-Star Team together with her Ikast teammates

Gro Hammerseng Gro Hammerseng-Edin (born 10 April 1980 in Gjøvik as Gro Hammerseng) is a Norwegian former handballer who last played for the club Larvik HK. She was captain of the Norwegian national team for several years, and in 2007 she was voted female ...

and

Katja Nyberg Katja Johanna Alice Nyberg (born 24 August 1979) is a naturalized Norwegian handball player, currently retired. She played 99 games and scored 321 goals for the Norwegian national team during her career. With the Norwegian team she won a gold ...

. She competed at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, where the French team finished fifth, and she ranked shared second on the Top Goalkeepers list with a 40% save rate.

Honours

Results

* Champions League : Winner: 2006 * EHF Cup : Winner: 2004 * Cup Winners' Cup : Winner: 2003 * French Championship : Winner: 1998, 2001, 2003 * French Cup : Winner: 2001, 2002, 2003 * Danish Championship : Gold: 2004, 2006 : Silver: 2007, 2008 * Danish Cup : Winner: 2004/05, 2006/07

Awards

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

and member of the All Star Team of the 2003 World Championship * Member of the All Star Team of the 2007 World Championship

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicolas, Valerie 1975 births Living people French female handball players Handball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Handball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Handball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic handball players for France Viborg HK players