Didier Dinart

Didier Dinart
Dinart in 2018
Personal information
Born (1977-01-18) 18 January 1977 (age 47)
Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe
Nationality French
Height 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
Playing position Pivot
Club information
Current club US Ivry Handball (head coach)
Senior clubs
Years Team
0000–1997
 Dijon Bourgogne HB
1997–2003
 Montpellier Handball
2003–2011
 BM Ciudad Real
2011–2012
 Atlético Madrid
2012–2013
 PSG Handball
National team
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–2012
 France 231 (133)
Title
1998–2003
 French Champion (DIM) Montpellier
1999–2003
 French Cup Montpellier
Teams managed
2016–2020
 France
2021–2022
 Saudi Arabia
2023–
 US Ivry Handball
2024–
 Montenegro
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing Team
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Team
World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2001 France
Gold medal – first place 2009 Croatia
Gold medal – first place 2011 Sweden
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Portugal
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Tunisia
European Championship
Gold medal – first place 2006 Switzerland
Gold medal – first place 2010 Austria
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Norway

Didier Dinart (born 18 January 1977) is a French retired handball player and current coach of the Montenegrin national team.[1]

During his playing days, he played for the internationally renowned BM Ciudad Real handball team in Spain (where he was partner to, among others, Luc Abalo). Before joining BM Ciudad Real, he played for Montpellier HB of which is currently one of the best French clubs.

He was a highly skilled defensive player, and is widely regarded as one of the world's best handball defensive players.[2][3] This effectiveness has granted him the nickname of La Roca (The Rock) in Spain.[citation needed]

He is also one of the most enduring players of the national team: his first appearance on the team was on 20 December 1996 against Croatia. He won all three major titles in handball (European championship, world championship, Olympic championship). He has represented France at four Olympic Games, including winning the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics[4] and the 2012 London Olympics.[5]

  1. ^ EHF profile
  2. ^ ehf, cie. "Didier Dinart will help French national team as defensive-coach". www.handball-world.com (in German). Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  3. ^ "European Handball Federation – Defence specialist Didier Dinart starts new career / Article". Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  4. ^ Olympic results Archived 16 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Didier Dinart - Handball - Olympic Athlete | London 2012". Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2013.