Denis Lathoud

Denis Lathoud spent his career either playing or coaching handball. Lathoud began his career with Vénissieux in 1984, spending the next eight years with the club, winning the French Cup in 1991 and doing the league and cup double in 1992. In 1993 he joined Nîmes, doing the league and cup double again with his new team in the same year, before winning a third French Cup in 1994. Whilst he spent most of his playing career with French sides, he did spend spells with Al Sadd SC in Qatar in 2000 and the Italian team SSV Brixen one year later. Lathoud finished his domestic career with SMV Porte Normande, playing with the team from 2001 to 2005, also managing the side.

From 1987 to 1996 Lathoud played in 164 matches for the French national handball team, scoring 463 goals. In 1992 he was part of the squad that won bronze at the Barcelona Olympics after beating Iceland 24–20 in the medal round. One year later he won silver at the World Championships in Sweden, before going one better to win gold at the 1995 championships in Iceland. Lathoud returned to the Olympics for the 1996 Games in Atlanta, but France just missed out on a medal after losing to Spain in the final round.

Lathoud’s coaching career began when he joined SMV Porte Normande in 2001, with him later managing Dijon Bourgogne from 2008 to 2014. He later spent a spell coaching the Tunisian side Espérance Sportive de Tunis from 2015 until 2017, winning two national championships with the team.