BUDAPEST (VG) Here are aroused as strong emotions in Erik Toft (29) as after the scores in the European Championships. Norway’s new top scorer loves fly fishing and outdoor life. Mom and NRK’s ​​nature profile, Kari Toft, like it.

The handball guys are hit by corona after the Sweden wallpaper. Torbjørn Bergerud and Magnus Gullerud are out of Norway’s last European Championship match against Iceland on Friday, but Toft is also from Hungary. Like several others in the European Championship squad, he has been through the disease before the championship.

Erik Toft made his debut for Elverum already as a 16-year-old. He has put a lot of effort into handball for over 10 years before the international breakthrough has come in the last two weeks in Slovakia.

– I am quite moved, says Kari Toft to VG.

– Everyone at this level puts in a lot of work. But he has been so close. Erik made his debut on Elverum’s A-team early, but then it has been a lot of ventilation. He has been to national team gatherings, but then he has had a bit of a stick out, says NRK Natur’s program manager.

The hard-shooting hill has been successful with 20 European Championship goals. The “bomber” traffic also against Sweden, but clearly not to prevent Swedish victory in the last main round match after Glenn Solberg’s team had only been in the lead for 43 seconds of the 60-minute European Championship drama.

On Friday, Norway will play for fifth place when they meet Iceland at 15.30. Victory gives direct place to next year’s WC. It broadcasts on TV 3.

– Before the European Championships, I thought it would have been great if he had played a little. But when he gains so much confidence and gets it done then it is beyond all expectation. It is both a joy and a relief, describes the well-known journalist mother.

In the European Championships, Erik Toft has hammered in goals from long range. Boom shots have not put the debutant out at all.

– It is very nice to see that he has gained such good self-confidence. He has had a lot of playing time in Denmark and has been an important player for his team. Now he is also captain of Mors-Thy. He does not care if things go a little wrong. He vet he can. Well, he gets to try for longer periods and then it’s nice when it smells, mum Toft smiles

– I think I have built up over time. In Denmark, I have a big role in the team and know that I have to contribute the match through. There is no point in starting with that boom and opting out. I have learned that, says Erik Toft to VG.

He grew up close to handball historical grounds in Elverum. His father Ragnar Thorsteinsen has always played in the band, builds guitars and is better known for his music and sports at home.

– He became a handball player against all odds and I do not know how much honor we as parents should take for the interest in nature. But it is clear that when kids are exposed to nature and the joy of hiking, it leaves some traces in them. They may not have been that excited for a few years, but then it comes back. Erik has taken it out in fly fishing, says his mother.

Because when Erik Toft really has to be disconnected, he brings out the fishing rod. Preferably with old friends. The national team’s Petter Øverby is one of them.

– A mixture of relaxing, but still has the adrenaline rush that I get from the boy group I fish with, he explains – grew up just a few meters from Glomma. Last summer, Toft caught fine trout in Finnmark, but the largest were allowed to live on after meeting the dry fly.

– We release the most beautiful specimens again. Then it happens that we take a fried fish, he describes himself.

– Everyone has experienced that you get to clear your head when you are out. I’m not a fly fisherman, but I think it must be incredibly good mentally to stand by the water and be concentrated on hitting exactly with the cast, says more and adds.

– I think it’s very important for him to be out. Handball is very much about being inside halls and changing rooms with more or less good air. In Denmark, he fixes sea trout and has caught several fine salmon on the hook in Storå – the Danes’ second longest river that flows through Holstebro. Erik Toft lives there with his girlfriend Thea Hoås Norman and one-year-old Jens.

– It’s clear I miss him. I do not know how much he misses me. But I want him to do it anyway. We keep in touch with FaceTime and photos. It helps, but I look forward to meeting him again, says Erik Toft.

He will soon have his wish fulfilled.