He Just Won World Player of the Year 3 Times in a Row — No One Has Ever Done That
On February 13, 2026, the International Handball Federation (IHF) made an announcement that sent shockwaves through the handball world [citation:5]. Mathias Gidsel had won World Handball Player of the Year for 2025 [citation:1][citation:5]. That alone wouldn't be news. He'd won it before. In fact, he'd won it in 2023. And in 2024 [citation:1][citation:5]. He Just Won World Player of the Year 3 Times in a Row — No One Has Ever Done That Three in a row. From 2023 to 2025. No man in the history of handball had ever done that [citation:5][citation:9]. Nikola Karabatić won three times — but not consecutively. Mikkel Hansen won three times — but not consecutively. Mathias Gidsel just became the first male player ever to win three straight IHF World Player of the Year awards [citation:1][citation:5]. At 27 years old, he's already standing alongside the legends. 🏆