After more than three weeks of fervent voting, the International Handball Federation (IHF) has officially announced the recipients of the four coveted 2024 IHF World Player of the Year awards.
The voting process mirrored that of the previous year, with contributions divided equally among fan votes, national team coaches, and the IHF Commission of Coaching and Methods (CCM). The winners emerged based on the highest overall percentages aggregated across these three sectors.
In the race for the IHF Male Player of the Year, Mathias Gidsel demonstrated a commanding lead across all categories, outpacing his closest competitor, Andreas Wolff. With this victory, Gidsel makes history as the first male player to win this accolade in consecutive years.
A parallel narrative unfolded in the IHF Female Player of the Year category, where reigning champion Henny Reistad also dominated the coaches’ and fan votes, finishing ahead of her Norwegian teammate Kari Brattset Dale. Reistad now stands as only the second player ever to secure the award twice, joining the ranks of Cristina Neagu.
In the young player awards, there was a consensus in recognizing Petra Simon as the IHF Young Female Player of the Year, while Renars Uscins claimed the IHF Young Male Player of the Year title, drawing support from both the IHF CCM vote and the fans.
Can anything stand in the way of Gidsel’s ascent to legend status? It seems unlikely. Having already etched his name in the annals of history, he continues to collect individual accolades to complement his growing collection of medals. Following his MVP performance and gold medal triumph at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Gidsel has become the first player to secure back-to-back IHF Male Player of the Year honors, achieving this feat by sweeping all three voting categories.
Only Mikkel Hansen and Nikola Karabatic have previously secured the IHF Male Player of the Year trophy three times, while Talant Dujshebaev, Ivano Balic, and Niklas Landin Jacobsen have all won it twice. Gidsel now joins the elite company of six players who have claimed the honor twice, showcasing his dominance in men’s handball with an impressive 88.2% share of the coaches’ vote, alongside substantial leads in the fan and CCM voting categories.
The 26-year-old right back has consistently dazzled in 2024, emerging as both MVP and top goal scorer at the Paris Olympic Games, where he netted 62 goals for his undefeated Denmark team, securing the gold medal—a first for Gidsel. He also distinguished himself as the top assists provider, recording 39 assists that solidified his integral role in Denmark’s gameplay. At the EHF EURO 2024, Gidsel was named the All-Star right back and tied for the title of top scorer with 54 goals, further enhancing his team’s silver medal run.
Before last year, only two players had managed to win the IHF Female Player of the Year award at least twice: Hungarian back Bojana Radulović, followed by Romanian left back Cristina Neagu, who was also the sole recipient of back-to-back trophies. Now, Neagu is joined by Norway’s Henny Reistad, who once again showcases her brilliance as the IHF Female Player of the Year.
Reistad’s dominance in the fan vote was palpable, as she garnered more votes than the combined total of her rivals, Estelle Nze Minko and Kari Brattset Dale. Additionally, she commanded the coaches’ vote with an astounding 88.2% majority, securing her second IHF Female Player of the Year title.
Turning 26 in February, the left back dazzled at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games despite a slow start—missing their first two matches—eventually finishing 11th in the top scorer rankings with 28 goals over six matches. Her contributions were vital in leading Norway to a gold medal. At the EHF EURO 2024, Reistad excelled, again named All-Star center back, scoring 50 goals while clinching another gold medal. She also topped the scoring charts in the EHF Champions League for Team Esbjerg, amassing 66 goals in the 2024/25 season alone.
Uščins emerged as the fan favorite, capturing the majority of votes—33% of the final tally—more than the combined votes for Portugal’s Francisco Costa and Croatia’s Dominik Kuzmanovic. The German right back, who has impressed both at club and country during this breakout year, also received support from the IHF Commission of Coaching and Methods, propelling him to follow in the footsteps of last year’s IHF Young Male Player of the Year, Elias Ellefsen a Skipagotu.
The year 2024 solidified the 22-year-old’s place within the German national setup, clearly establishing himself as Alfred Gislason’s preferred choice. Uscins secured his first medal with the senior team at the Paris Olympics, where he shone on the court.
He finished as the fourth-best scorer in the competition, netting 52 goals, and earned a spot on the All-Star team as the top right back of the Olympics. He also claimed the title of top scorer for his club, TSV Hannover-Burgdorf, in the German Bundesliga.
Meanwhile, Simon, at just 19 years old—she turns 20 in November—had an outstanding breakthrough year. The center back left her mark during the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Debrecen and proved to be an invaluable asset to Hungary at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where her team reached the quarter-finals. Simon dominated both the fan and coaches’ votes, garnering more votes than her rivals, Lena Grandveau and Lylou Borg, and receiving 82% of the coaches’ poll.
At the Olympics, one of the youngest competitors, Simon scored 16 goals before Hungary’s elimination in the quarter-finals, including a clutch buzzer-beater against Brazil that secured her status as the game’s top scorer. She also earned the accolade of Best Young Player at the EHF EURO 2024, where she helped Hungary capture bronze—the first medal in senior competition for her team.
