Benedikt Rúnar Guðmundsson (born 19 August 1972) is an Icelandic professional basketball coach for Úrvalsdeild karla club Njarðvík and the Icelandic women's national basketball team.[1] He has been named Úrvalsdeild karla Coach of the Year twice: in the 2006–07[2] season and in the 2008–09 season,[3]. In both seasons, he won the Icelandic men's championship KR. He has been named the Úrvalsdeild kvenna Coach of the year twice; in 2010, when he also won the Icelandic women's championship with KR, and in 2019.
Njarðvík | ||||||||||||||
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Position | Head coach | |||||||||||||
League | Úrvalsdeild karla | |||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||
Born | (1972-08-19) 19 August 1972 (age 50) Iceland | |||||||||||||
Nationality | Icelandic | |||||||||||||
Coaching career | 1995–present | |||||||||||||
Career history | ||||||||||||||
As coach: | ||||||||||||||
1995–1997 | KR (Men's) | |||||||||||||
1996–1997 | KR (Women's) | |||||||||||||
1997–1998 | Grindavík (Men's) | |||||||||||||
2003–2006 | Fjölnir (Men's) | |||||||||||||
2006–2009 | KR (Men's) | |||||||||||||
2009–2010 | KR (Women's) | |||||||||||||
2010–2015 | Þór Þorlákshöfn (Men's) | |||||||||||||
2015–2017 | Þór Akureyri (Men's) | |||||||||||||
2015–2017 | Þór Akureyri (Women's) | |||||||||||||
2017–2020 | KR (Women's) | |||||||||||||
2019–present | Iceland (Women's) | |||||||||||||
2021–present | Njarðvík (Men's) | |||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
As coach:
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Medals
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After coaching Þór Þorlákshöfn from 2010,[4] Benedikt took over Þór Akureyri men's and women's teams in 2015.[5] He led the men's team to victory in Division I in 2016 and a promotion to Úrvalsdeild karla.[6] He led the women's team to victory in Division I in 2017 but the team failed to achieve promotion til the Úrvalsdeild kvenna after losing to Breiðablik in the promotion playoffs.[7]
In May 2017, Benedikt was hired as the head coach of KR women's team.[8]
After guiding KR to the Úrvalsdeild playoffs in 2019, Benedikt was named the Úrvalsdeild kvenna Coach of the Year.[9] On 11 May 2020, he announced he was leaving KR.[10]
On 30 May 2021, Benedikt was hired as the head coach of Úrvalsdeild karla club Njarðvík.[11] On 18 September he guided Njarðvík to a 97–93 win against Stjarnan in the Icelandic Cup final, ending the clubs 16 year major title draught.[12] He led Njarðvík to the best record in the Úrvalsdeild, becoming the first coach to lead three different clubs to the leagues best record.[13]