He doesn’t look like a professional athlete at all, but Gauthier Mvumbi has been the highlight of the Handball World Cup so far. Because the Congolese circle runner can play – and already has a famous fan.
“A dream will come true, I can’t believe it! My idol! I don’t really understand what is actually happening,” wrote Gauthier Mvumbi under his post on his Instagram profile. Attached: A video message from NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal: “They say you are the Shaq of handball. What’s up?” said “Shaq” in his short message to Mvumbi.
Because Gauthier Mvumbi has so far been the highlight of this Handball World Cup in Egypt in 2021. Mvumbi is noticeable – he doesn’t look like a professional athlete: clearly overweight, the jersey with the number 15 stretches so over his massive body that he got the unflattering nickname “Congo Colossus” from the boulevard – but the supposed one “Koloss” can play handball. And how! At the start of the tournament at 22:28 against Argentina, the circle scored four times in just eleven minutes, and that with a rate of 100%. In the second group game – 19:39 against top team Denmark – the 26-year-old was one of the best throwers in his team and scored four of his five attempts.
Strong in the end: Congo’s Gauthier Mvumbi. (Source: Bildbyran / imago images)
(Almost) every litter of the 110-kilogram man sits. And the comparisons with “Shaq” came up immediately – because the basketball icon not only impressed during active times with strong performances on the floor, but with 2.16 meters and up to 165 kilograms is perhaps the most physically impressive player in basketball history .
Whereby the information about Mvumbi’s height and weight is confusing: The official tournament site says it is 1.76 meters and 89 kilograms – a glance is enough to see that the listed body size alone cannot be correct. More realistic is what the Website of the World Handball Federation indicates: 1.92 meters tall, 110 kilograms – although there may be some doubts about the weight.
“Call me ‘El Gigante'”
The fans and experts are all the more surprised at how agile and agile the national player appears on the record. Mvumbi himself is proud of the attention – and of himself: “Call me ‘El Gigante'” he wrote with a wink to a video with excerpts from the Argentina game.
He proudly said to the French “L’Écho Républicain” on Saturday: “I have just conducted ten interviews.” His club also celebrates him: “Gauthier makes headlines” writes Dreux AC on Facebook. The club from a town of 30,000 inhabitants 90 kilometers west of Paris plays in the fourth French league, is currently second in the table – and Mvumbi is the fourth-best thrower of his team with eleven goals in three games.
“Live for your dream and stand by yourself,” Mvumbi wrote to his fans on Instagram. He is actually living his dream – after the message from his idol, he now calls himself on the platform: “Shaq of handball.”
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