21 goals scored at half-time in an Olympics final. A record.

39 goals scored in an Olympics final. A record.

A 13-goal win in the Olympics final. A record.

Denmark pulled no punches throughout the men’s handball competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. And they were not going to stop in the final, the last match of Mikkel Hansen’s career and the last international match for Niklas Landin Jacobsen, two players who gave absolutely everything they had for Denmark.

But few expected that performance. Few expected that Denmark were going on a 6:0 run in the middle of the second half, few expected them to score 13 of their first 15 shots. Few expected that they would boast an 87% shooting efficiency after 23 minutes in the match.

Simply put, it was perfection.

“I think it was the best first half in Denmark’s history. It was absolutely perfect, we showcased the type of handball we want to play, fast, with a lot of speed and very efficient,” said coach Nikolaj Jacobsen, after Denmark’s 39:26 win against Germany in the final of the men’s handball competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

During half-time and intervals, on the big screens in the South Paris Arena 6 and the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille, the special moments from Paris 2024 were showcased, much to the excitement of fans.

The video was then swapped for a photo, in a golden frame, with the “Hang in the Louvre” message.

If there was a moment from the men’s handball competition which would deserve to be in an Louvre exhibition, it would definitely be the first half of this match, which was handball in its purest form.

"It was the perfect day. Not only for me, personally, but for the whole team. Playing like this, beating Germany in a final, says how good we are. I'm really proud," said Mathias Gidsel, who scored 11 goals in the final, on his way to the top goal scorer title and the MVP award at the end of the competition.

Gidsel had only four goals in that first half, adding seven in the second half, but his contribution is much more than goals. What the right back did was to soak up the attention of Germany’s defence, enabling his side to find new solutions, opening avenues for goals scored by left wing Magnus Landin Jacobsen and line player Lukas Jorgensen.

“We wanted to go out and play the match of our lives, and it must be said that we did. So, in that way it is fantastic that you can deliver at such a high level even under pressure,” added coach Jacobsen.

But Denmark, which became the first team since Croatia at 2024 to secure the Olympics title with a 100% winning record, remembered that a perfect first half is not necessarily a guarantee for a big win. They provided a fantastic performance in the first half of the match against Egypt in the preliminary round, outscoring the African champions, 19:9. In the end, they only won by three goals. 

Therefore, they did not celebrate wildly at half-time, rather than focusing on the task at hand, knowing fully well that Germany are no pushovers. The Scandinavian side went on to win the second half, 18:14.

"For me, it was tied throughout the whole second half. I always have the feeling that 'maybe they come back, we are playing about something really important and big'. But of course, when coach Jacobsen started to make all the substitutions (in the second half), I knew that it was going the right way. It couldn't be bigger, for me or the team," adds Gidsel.

The right back secured his second consecutive MVP title at the Olympic Games. And he also beat Mikkel Hansen’s record for the number of goals scored in a single edition of the Olympics by a single goal, putting 62 goals on the board at Paris 2024.

It was somehow a symbolic passing of the torch from one great to the other. Hansen won his second gold medal in the Olympics. For Gidsel, who lost the final at Tokyo 2020 against France, this was his first.

"Mikkel and Niklas have done so much for Danish handball for the last 20 years, so being part of ending their era with a gold medal means a lot for the whole group, for Danish handball and for Denmark. Now we young guys have an assignment to take over. If we can do it half as well as these two guys have, then we will have done it really well," added Gidsel.

But with him and Simon Pytlick – who scored 54 goals in this edition of the Olympic Games – Denmark’s future looks in good hands. At Los Angeles 2028, the pair of backs will be in their prime. 

And if Denmark win it again, it is not going to be about “Hanging it in the Louvre”. That will be their perfect Hollywood moment.