World Handball Player of the Year 2004: Anita Kulcsar (†) and Henning Fritz
The WHM readers and the visitors of the IHF Web Site had their vote again and the result is telling two totally different stories. Anita Kulcsar and Henning Fritz are the 2004 World Handball Players.The sad news about Hungary’s national player Anita Kulcsar, who passed away on 19 January 2005, cast a cloud up on the vote for the World Handball Player of the Year. She died aged 28 only in a car accident on her way to a training session with her club of Dunaferr. By an overwhelming majority of 65.7%, handball fans all around the world elected her 2004 World Handball Player of the Year posthumously to treasure the memory of her. Another three reigning Olympic champions that are Katrine Fruelund (DEN), Rikke Schmidt (DEN) and Line Daugaard (DEN) follow behind, ahead of France’s exceptional Véronique Pequeux Rolland.
The men’s vote revealed a result as clear as the one in the women’s vote: Henning Fritz (GER) is the first goalkeeper in the history of the competition to be elected World Handball Player of the Year by comfortable 38%. He gained more than twice the number of votes of runner-up Juan Garcia (ESP). Croatia’s Mirza Dzomba follows third ahead of his teammate and last year’s World Handball Player Ivano Balic. Cuba-born Carlos Enrique Reinaldo Perez, who has meanwhile become a key figure in Hungary’s national team, also finished among the top five.
The International Handball Federation and partner adidas counted nearly 40,000 entries for the vote (that has been organised since 1988 ) – compared with last year this was slightly higher. A new feature has found special favour here. The IHF Web Site users could cast their vote by using an input form set up for this very purpose.
(...)
Short Portrait: Henning Fritz - A fabulous year
Henning Fritz already went down in history on 24 August 2004 as the man nobody could get by. Athens Olympic Games, quarter-final Germany – Spain, 7m shoot-out showdown: Four Spaniards had a try – and failed to the German keeper, who secured his team a 32:30 victory after two overtime periods. The fact that 30-year-old Fritz became the first goalkeeper the WHM readers elected World Handball Player of the Year, marked the icing on the cake of a fabulous year, when he became European Champion and Olympic silver medallist with the national team and grabbed the EHF Cup with the club of THW Kiel.
Henning Fritz (GER)
Aged eight, Fritz started his career with the club of TuS Neustadt and moved to SC Magdeburg at an early stage to benefit from the perfect sporting conditions at the sports school and training centre there. He joined the first division at the age of 17, three years ahead he made his debut for the national team. When leaving SC Magdeburg to sign with THW Kiel 1.88m-tall Fritz definitely climbed up to world class.Fritz was a guarantor of success regarding the great achievements of the previous German team that had made through to four big finals in a row between 2002 and 2004. He was named to the All-Star teams of the 2003 World Championship in Portugal, the ECh in Slovenia as well as the Olympic Games. For the coming Olympiad, he has high aims – the World Championship on home soil in 2007 followed by the Beijing Games a year ahead.
Fritz, merchant involved in export trade and wholesale by profession, who is living with his wife Babett and his daughters Laney and Marike in Kiel, knows well about the effect he has when standing between the posts: “Sometimes I really sense the respect of the thrower. I feel how nervousness makes them anxious.“
[URL=http://www.ihf.info/CDA/news_detai…61df5c4e6367738]quelle[/URL]
Völlig korrekte Wahl!
Glückwusch an Henning!
Super Ergebnis für Henning Fritz - herzlichen Glückwunsch dazu!
Glückwunsch an Henning Fritz! Für mich einer der besten Torhüter aller Zeiten.
Hat das schonmal nen Torwart gewonnen? Sehr deutlich Glückwunsch
...deutschland - spanien, vf os - 32-30...
Glückwunsch an Henning!!!
Das hat Er auch verdient, auch im Rückblick auf die Europameisterschaft. 
Original von TBV Phil
Hat das schonmal nen Torwart gewonnen?
Nein ... wie in dem englisch-sprachigen Zitat steht "Henning Fritz (GER) is the first goalkeeper in the history of the competition to be elected World Handball Player of the Year" ...
Das is ja gigantisch 
und er hat es auf jeden Fall verdient ..
Glückwunsch Henning - weiter so!! Nach Olympia und EM im letzten Jahr absolut verdient.
Genial, nach diesem genialen Jahr 2004 für ihn auch völlig verdient! Glückwunsch!
Habe es gerade schon im Kieler Forum gesagt:
So eine Nachricht kommt gut, nach der Trauer um die verpasste Chance den DHB-Pokal zu holen! Für Henning genau die richtige Motivation für eine Weltklasseleistung am Mittwoch hoffe ich!
Gratulation, Henning!
Herzlichen Glückwunsch Henning,das ist wirklich absolut verdient!!!
Nun werdet noch Deutscher Meister,.... und auch in Kiel ist die Welt in Ordnung !!! 
Super Henning Fritz! Vollkommen verdient für Deutschlands Nummer 1!
Viel Erfolg auch weiterhin! 
Glückwunsch, Henning Fritz. Zurecht Welthandballer 2004!
ich kann auch nur gratulieren! freu mich sehr für henning!
Herzlichen Glückwunsch an henning Fritz! Er hat es absolut verdient. Finde ich total klasse!!!
Herzlichen Glückwunsch an Hennig!
Ein echt guter Torhütter. Mach weiter so.
geil.
