Katharina Filter is a reliable support for the German handball players at the World Cup. Against Montenegro she remained 15 minutes without conceding a goal.
In handball, goalkeepers traditionally have a reputation for being “special”. Some would say: crazy. The national goalkeeper showed that this also applies to Katharina Filter in the 34:16 victory against Montenegro. She completely nailed down the goal for 15 minutes, saved almost half of all shots and then entered the top scorer’s list three more times – player of the game and rightly so.
Off the field there is little evidence of the attributes that are usually attributed to goalkeepers. “These are prejudices that exist. But others have to judge that.”said the 26-year-old in the Sportschau interview. “Kathi is a calm person, she exudes a lot of security”captain Antje Döll described the 26-year-old. “She is our sunshine. Always shining, always positive. A great support for our team”added defense chief Xenia Smits.
Too nice for punishment
Filter has earned its good reputation not least through training. The DHB women’s catalog of penalties states: If the goalkeepers catch a ball, the thrower has to pay. Filter rarely does this by taking money from her teammates. “I try to be very social. If the ball comes close, I do it quickly and try not to catch so many balls.”Filter explained, putting her hands up to signal dropping the ball.
When things get serious, Filter won’t let a “catch ball” be taken away from him. She also had the opportunity to do this in the game against Montenegro. The ball stuck to his hands twice. She made eleven saves after 45 minutes of action. “This team just gives me a good feeling. Together we are so self-confident. I’m not worried about it. Even if things get close, we go into it calmly.”says Filter.
For Filter, this is the key to success. “So I don’t meditate, but it helps me to hear again from the side: ‘Everything’s fine, just stay calm, take another deep breath’“, says Filter, “These are words that bring you down a bit and make you forget your nervousness.”
Danish influence
Experience also helps with nervousness. Filter has now appeared 81 times for the national team. With her club Esbjerg she plays in the Danish first league and the Champions League. Denmark has become the sporting home of the Hamburg native.
At the age of 15 she went to handball boarding school in Viborg for a year. In 2022, after three years in the Bundesliga with Buxtehuder SV, she moved back north to the Danish first division club Kobenhavn Handbold. A year later, she sought a challenge at top French club Brest Bretagne before returning to Denmark this summer.
Hall and sand
And it’s not just there that Filter has learned a lot. Experience from the sand also helps the goalkeeper. “In beach handball, it’s quick and easy. You can’t dwell on an old game – good or bad – for long. Check it out, move on and focus on the next game in as short a time as possible. These are things that I can take with me.”explained Filter. This is a valuable skill, especially at a World Cup where there are games every two days.
And she knows something else thanks to her beach career: what it feels like to have a medal hanging around your neck. European Championship gold 2021, World Cup gold and World Games title 2022 in the sand. “With every title we won there, we went from game to game. Of course we knew what was possible. But the most important thing was that we went from game to game and that’s what helps me a lot here.”
First Spain, then quarter-finals
Spain is now waiting in the last main round game. Nobody can take away the group victory and thus the quarter-finals (Tuesday, December 9th, live on ZDF) from the German team. You don’t have to be crazy to dream of more. “I’ve been dreaming all the time”says filter, “But I also know that as long as you don’t have anything hanging around your neck, you haven’t won anything.”