Þórir Hergeirsson (born 27 April 1964) is an Icelandic handball coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the Norwegian women's national team. Þórir has led the Norwegian national team to two Olympic gold medals, three World Championships titles and five European Championships titles.

Early life

Born on 27 April 1964, Þórir was born and raised in Selfoss.

Playing career

Þórir played for Selfoss handball team until 1986. He moved to Norway in 1986 to study at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. He played therefore for a short while in Norway before fully focusing on his coaching career.

Coaching career

Þórir's first coaching experience was with Selfoss junior teams. Shortly after moving to Oslo in 1986 to further his education he was hired as the head coach of Elverum men's team. He later coached at Gjerpen Håndball and Nærbø IL. Þórir has been part of the Norway national coaching team since 2001, and took over as head coach in April 2009, succeeding former head coach Marit Breivik. He led the Norwegian team to bronze medals at the 2009 World Women's Handball Championship, gold medals at the 2010 European Women's Handball Championship, gold medals at the 2011 World Women's Handball Championship, and gold medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics. In August 2016, he won Bronze with Norway at the 2016 Summer Olympics. In December 2016, he guided the team to gold at the 2016 European Women's Handball Championship despite losing his mother the day before the tournament started. Þórir has been awarded the title Norwegian Sports Coach of the Year at Idrettsgallaen twice. His first win in 2007 was shared with Marit Breivik. In 2023, he won the award again. In September 2024 he announced that the current season would be his last as coach for the national team.

Achievements

Olympic Games World Championship European Championship

Personal life

Þórir's daughter Maria Thorisdottir is a Norwegian international footballer. Þórir's brother is Grímur Hergeirsson, himself a handball coach and former player. He is the uncle of the Icelandic national team player Janus Daði Smárason. On 21 March 2017, Þórir was made a Knight 1st Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit.