Olympic handball star Nora Mork accuses men's team of circulating nude pictures

Norwegian handball star Nora Mork at the world championships last year. Photo / Getty

One of the world's leading female handball players has agreed to lift a self-imposed playing ban and return to the international fold - despite some of her countrymen allegedly circulating naked pictures of her.

26-year-old Norwegian Nora Mork was the top-scorer at last year's world championships but turned her back on the country's handball federation after her mobile phone was hacked and intimate pictures of her went public.

The free-scoring fullback claimed some members of the national men's team had been circulating the images of her for months, while the Norwegian Handball Federation failed to act.

In January, the accused male players denied sharing the images, saying they deleted the photos when they were sent to their phones and claimed they were the ones to tell Mork of the hack.

Mork has agreed to return to action for the national team. Photo / Getty

Men's centre Sander Sagosen told The Sun he was surprised Mork went to the media as a result.

"She went to the media to say that we had been looking at the pictures and laughing at her — that's not true.

"It's clear that you do not have a good feeling when the biggest newspaper in Norway says on the cover that you have sexually harassed someone."

According to captain Bjarte Myrhol, Mork had the support of the entire men's team - despite the accusations.

"It was very important for me to tell her that the whole team was on her side and supported her," he told The Sun.

"She was probably depressed then and still is, but we thought it necessary for her to know that we did not share the photos or laugh at her."

Men's captain Bjarte Myrhol has given Mork his support. Photo / Getty

Mork said in January that she felt like a "prisoner of men from the top of the sport who have not helped".

She claimed she was forced to go public after senior figures refused to give her enough support.

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📸@cicilieandersen.

A post shared by Nora Mørk (@noramrk_9) on Dec 31, 2017 at 3:27am PST

"I ask for understanding, I have not been able to control the times. I am a prisoner of men from the top of the sport who have not helped," she told The Sun.

"They are the ones who do not want to give me a public apology and have forced me to bring it to light."

Norway handball president Kare Geir Lio told AFP the federation has "agreed to put new measures in place to deal with this kind of situation and Nora thinks the measures are sufficient".

"Nora says she wants to continue to play for the national team and we are absolutely delighted."

Runners-up to Germany in the 2017 world championships, Mork scored a tournament top tally of 66 goals and has scored 560 times for Norway.

She was also a bronze medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

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