Arnoldsen's magic acknowledged, as Danish star named winner at the prestigious Årets Fund

2024 has been a star-studded year for Denmark, which secured their second gold medal in the men’s handball competition at the Olympic Games, as well as clinching the silver medal at the EHF EURO 2024.

With a team full of stars, Denmark are slowly thinking about the future too and have been slowly inserting new players in the squad over the last years, such as Mathias Gidsel, who made his debut in a major international competition at the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship, or Simon Pytlick, who started shining at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship.

2024 has been the breakthrough year for yet another Danish player, back Thomas Sommer Arnoldsen, who was part of the team in Denmark’s flawless performance at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The 23-year-old back, who has been featuring since 2023 at Aalborg Håndbold, was named the “Discovery of the Year” in Danish sports, in the prestigious Årets Fund, an award which was first given in 1929.

“The award committee chose to give the award to Thomas Arnoldsen because of his colossal development and strong performances throughout the past calendar year. A journey that culminated in August when he was an important part of the Danish national team that won Olympic gold in Paris,” said the Danish Olympic Committee (DIF) in a press release.

Arnoldsen is the third handball player in the last four years to receive this award, after Mathias Gidsel secured it in 2021 and Simon Pytlick was honoured in 2023, thanks to their fantastic performances on the court.

“Thomas is a huge talent and always has been. There are many who didn't know if they would be good at playing handball when they were 15-16 years old. But I think everyone who has seen Thomas since he was 10-11 years old has known that there was something extraordinary,” says Denmark’s national team coach, Nikolaj Jacobsen, for the official website of the Denmark Handball Association.

“He has also proven this by getting a big role on one of the world's best national teams already at a young age. He still has huge development potential and has everything it takes to become one of the world's very best.”

Arnoldsen has been a regular presence for the Denmark younger age category teams, as his development has been closely monitored, preparing him for greatness. He made his debut in the senior team in 2023, but took a break from handball in 2023, due to mental fatigue.

He came back stronger and delivered a fantastic performance at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, helping Denmark secure the gold medal with eight wins in eight matches.