How it unfolded
Played before 35,000 fans at the Georgia Dome, this final was decided by a single goal. Bengt Johansson's Sweden, nicknamed Bengan's Boys, had won the 1990 world championship and 1994 European championship and were rated the strongest team in the world, built around Magnus Wislander. But the gold medal went instead to Croatia, competing at its first Olympics just five years after independence, 27-26. Croatia spread its scoring rather than leaning on one player, with three players each netting six goals. Sweden's Pierre Thorsson fought hard for eight goals, but Sweden couldn't convert its final possession. For Wislander, this loss was the second of three Olympic final defeats: to the Unified Team in 1992 Barcelona, to Croatia in 1996 Atlanta, and to Russia in 2000 Sydney, closing out his national-team career with three silver medals. Even when the IHF named him the best handball player of the 20th century in 2000, an Olympic gold medal was still missing from his name.
Why it still matters
This was the starting point of the Balkan nations reorganizing into individual handball powers after Yugoslavia's breakup. Starting with this gold medal, Croatia added a 2003 world title and a 2004 Olympic title, an extraordinary run for a country of just four million people. At the same time, this match remains one of the sport's most cited counterexamples: an era's best team and best player don't automatically become Olympic champions.