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Croatia Wins Handball Gold

ATLANTA -- Perfection brought Croatia it's first Olympic gold medal Sunday before a record crowd for men's team handball.

Brawny Bozidar Jovic scored on all six of his shots to lead Croatia to a 27-26 victory over Sweden, a game that attracted some 45,000 fans to the Georgia Dome.

Officials said it was the largest crowd ever for handball at the games.

A goal by Jovic with 3:08 refueled a misfiring Croatia offense and helped the Croatian team hold off a late rally by Sweden, which trailed 19-12 five minutes into the second half.

Croatia, whose fans sang through much of the game and waved their nation's red-and-white checkered flag and bundles of red-and-white balloons, won only one other medal in Atlanta -- a silver in water polo. They finished with a silver and two bronze medals in their Olympic debut in Barcelona four years ago.

Spain won the bronze with a 27-25 win over world champion France as Demetrio Lozano scored five second-half goals, his final one with 10 seconds left.

A goal by Sweden's Pierre Thorsson with 3:32 left cut Croatia's lead to 24-23. Jovic, Croatia's biggest starter at 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds, answered by firing a shot underneath the airborne Swede goalie, Thomas Svensson.

Thorsson led Sweden with eight goals and Erik Hajas scored on all seven of his shots.

The two teams traded goals before Nenad Kljaic scored for Croatia with 25 seconds left for a 27-25 lead. Magnus Wislander's goal for Sweden with seven seconds left closed out the scoring.

Croatia scored on 16 of 22 shots in the first half to take a 16-11 lead. With four players weighing 220 pounds or more, Croatia consistently bulled its way inside Sweden's defense.

Lozano's late goal enabled Spain to hold off a furious rally by the French, who trailed 24-17 with 12:00 left. Spain had built the lead by holding France with just one goal through the first 11 1/2 minutes of the second half.

Stephane Cordinier scored four of France's final six goals and Pascal Mahe got France within 26-25 when he scored with 33 seconds remaining.

Spain then worked down the clock before Lozano got the ball in the middle and bounced in the clinching goal past French goalie Yohan Delattre.

Spain, (5-2) led after the opening two minutes and took a 12-8 lead with 9:00 left in the first half on goals by Alberto Urdiales, Salvador Esquer and Jesus Olalla.

France (4-3) led back with its defense. The French held Spain scoreless over the next six minutes and Stephane Cordiner's goal with 23 seconds left got France back within 13-12 at the half.

Spain's frontline of 6-foot-7 Juan Perez, 6-5 Inaki Urdangarin and 6-4 Aitor Etxaburu led a defense that forced France into nine first-half turnovers.