Luc Abalo is a handball player who has competed for France. He competed at the 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 Summer Olympic Games. During the final of the 2012 Olympic Games, he scored the last French goal, which proved to be decisive, as Sweden came back to within a one-goal difference in the last minute of the match. During the 2016 Olympic Games, he only played the first three group matches, despite being the top scorer of the match in two of them. He also designed official merchandise for Paris 2024 in the form of bracelets involving flower petals in the French national colors.
At his debut Olympic appearance in 2008, he was the youngest member of an experienced French men's handball team, and he was recently named Player of the Year of the French national competition in 2007. As the only rightwing player of the team, he played in all eight matches, scoring 29 goals in total. This consisted of fourteen goals in the group stage, including four goals in the drawn match against Poland and five goals against China. After topping group A to advance to the quarterfinals, he scored seven goals against Russia in a 27 - 24 win, with only Daniel Narcisse scoring more, and four goals each in the remaining matches against Croatia and Iceland to win the first French gold medal in Olympic handball. With 29 goals, he was ranked 20th of individual goalscorers of the tournament, and he was ranked eighth of players with the most steals with six.
Four years later, he had become Olympic champion, world champion, and European champion, and had moved to Madrid where he finished runners-up in the Champions League with Atlético Madrid. He was still one of the youngest players of the French handball team, with only four other players being younger. Throughout the tournament, he scored 23 goals, of which 13 in the group stage. This included five goals against Sweden, four goals against Argentina, and three goals in the lost match against Iceland. After winning against Sweden, the French team finished second in group A to advance to the quarterfinals once again. The first knockout match against Spain, the bronze medalist of the most recent world championships, was very close, with Abalo scoring two goals in a 23 - 22 win. In the closing stages of the competition, he also scored four goals in a 25 - 22 win against Croatia and four goals, including the last goal of the French team, in a 22 - 21 win against Sweden in the final. With the second Olympic title in four years, France became the first nation in men's handball to successfully defend an Olympic title. Within the French team, only Thierry Omeyer had played more minutes than Abalo, with the latter being ranked eighth of players with the most steals of the tournament with five.
Four years later in Rio de Janeiro, he appeared for the third time at the Olympic Games, returning to Paris to play for Paris Saint-Germain. With 21 goals, he once against contributed heavily towards the results of the French handball team. He already scored three important goals in the 25 - 23 win against Tunisia, but followed it up with seven goals each in the group stage matches against Qatar and Argentina, becoming the top scorer of the match against Qatar, though Federico Fernandez took this honor in the next match. He was given some rest in the matches against Croatia and Denmark, with the France team qualifying second in group A. With two goals in the quarterfinal against Brazil, one goal in the 29 - 28 semifinal win against Germany, and one goal in the 26 - 28 lost final against Denmark, France won the silver medal.
As a final tournament before retiring, he competed at the postponed Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, as one of the veteran members of the French team. He scored the very first French goal of the tournament, leading the team to a 33 - 27 win against Argentina in the group stage, and also scored the first goal in the second group stage match against Brazil, which lead to a 34 - 29 win. He also scored in the won matches against Germany, Spain (three goals), and four goals in the lost match against Norway to take second place in group A to advance to the quarterfinals. In the knockout phase he scored another seven goals - three goals against Bahrain, two goals against Egypt and Denmark to win his fourth Olympic medal and third Olympic gold medal. With three steals, he was ranked third of his team, behind Ludovic Fabregas and Luka Karabatic.
Olympic Results[]
| Year | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Men's handball | 
|
| 2012 | Men's handball |
|
| 2016 | Men's handball | 
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| 2020 | Men's handball |
|
2008[]
| Stage | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Group stage | Brazil | 34 - 26 |
| China | 33 - 19 | |
| Croatia | 23 - 19 | |
| Spain | 28 - 21 | |
| Poland | 30 - 30 | |
| Quarterfinal | Russia | 27 - 24 |
| Semifinal | Croatia | 25 - 23 |
| Final | Iceland | 28 - 23 |
2012[]
| Stage | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Group stage | Great Britain | 44 - 15 |
| Argentina | 32 - 20 | |
| Tunisia | 25 - 19 | |
| Iceland | 29 - 30 | |
| Sweden | 29 - 26 | |
| Quarterfinal | Spain | 23 - 22 |
| Semifinal | Croatia | 25 - 22 |
| Final | Sweden | 22 - 21 |
2016[]
| Stage | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Group stage | Tunisia | 25 - 23 |
| Qatar | 35 - 20 | |
| Argentina | 31 - 24 | |
| Croatia | 28 - 29 | |
| Denmark | 33 - 30 | |
| Quarterfinal | Brazil | 34 - 27 |
| Semifinal | Germany | 29 - 28 |
| Final | Denmark | 26 - 28 |
2020[]
| Stage | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Group stage | Argentina | 33 - 27 |
| Brazil | 34 - 29 | |
| Germany | 30 - 29 | |
| Spain | 36 - 31 | |
| Norway | 29 - 32 | |
| Quarterfinal | Bahrain | 42 - 28 |
| Semifinal | Egypt | 27 - 23 |
| Final | Denmark | 25 - 23 |
