Hammerseng made her debut with the
Norwegian national team on 29 November 2000 against Poland in
Bergen, Norway. Her first major tournament was the
2000 European Championship in
Romania, where Norway finished sixth. She received a silver medal at the
2001 World Championship and at the
2002 European Championship. In December 2003, coach
Marit Breivik made Hammerseng captain of the team, replacing fellow
Gjøvik native
Else-Marthe Sørlie Lybekk. The
2003 World Championship was her first competition as captain, but Norway was not successful and finished the championship in sixth place, thus missing the opportunity to participate in the
2004 Summer Olympics. The
2004 European Championship brought her first gold medal with the team. Hammerseng saw her performance recognized as she was voted
MVP and member of the All-Star Team of the tournament. After a serious knee injury kept her out of the court in the 2005/06 season, Gro Hammerseng repeated her 2004 success at the
2006 European Championship in
Sweden. She received her second gold medal and was again named MVP and member of the All-Star Team of the tournament. At the
2007 World Championship, Norway was defeated by
Russia in the final match, marking the third silver medal for Hammerseng. She was voted into the All-Star Team as best left back. The
2008 Summer Olympics gave the Norwegians an opportunity for revenge, as they met Russia in the final match. After a comfortable 34–27 win, Hammerseng received her first Olympic gold medal. As of 22 December 2010, she has played 167 games for Norway, scoring 631 goals. == Awards and recognition ==