Norway had qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics by winning the 2006 European Championship. The preparation for Beijing started months before the competition started, but the final squad wasn't decided until the last weeks. Several players who had trained with the team up to this point were left out or kept as reserves, most notably Isabel Blanco and Terese Pedersen. There were no debuts in the group selected by Marit Breivik, but veteran Tonje Larsen made her comeback to the team after five years of struggle with injury. Gro Hammerseng maintained her usual role of team captain, with Else-Marthe Sørlie Lybekk and Gøril Snorroeggen completing the "captains team" as vice-captains.