Michael Vestergaard Knudsen (born 4 September 1978) is a Danish former team handball player. He is a European Champion, having won the 2008 European Men's Handball Championship with the Danish national handball team.[3] He received a bronze medal at the 2007 World Men's Handball Championship, where he was voted into the All-star-team (as Pivot). In 2011 he won a silver medal at the world championships, with Denmark losing to France in what was described as "the most thrilling World Championships final since decades".[4][5]

Michael V. Knudsen
Personal information
Full name Michael Vestergaard Knudsen
Born (1978-09-04) 4 September 1978 (age 46)
Hobro, Denmark
Nationality Danish
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Playing position Pivot
Club information
Current club Bjerringbro-Silkeborg
Number 77
Senior clubs
Years Team
1997–2002
Viborg HK
2002–2004
Skjern Håndbold
2004–2005
Viborg HK
2005–2014
SG Flensburg-Handewitt
2014–2020
Bjerringbro-Silkeborg
National team
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2014
Denmark 244[1] (796)
Medal record
World Championship
Silver medal – second place 2011 Sweden Team
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Germany Team
European Championship
Gold medal – first place 2008 Norway Team
Silver medal – second place 2014 Denmark Team
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Switzerland Team
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Slovenia Team
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Sweden Team
Junior World Championship
Gold medal – first place 1999 Qatar[2] Team

At the 2006 European Men's Handball Championship he was number three on the top scoring list, and the Danish team received bronze medals, as they did in 2002 and 2004. Knudsen currently plays for Danish side Bjerringbro-Silkeborg. In 2014, he was part of the Danish team that won the silver medal at the European Championship.

At Olympic level, he has represented Denmark at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.[6]

He retired from Professional handball in 2021 during the corona pandemic. Today he works as sporting director at his former club Bjerringbro-Silkeborg.[7]

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ "XI European Championship 2014. Team Roster, Denmark" (PDF). EHF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  2. ^ "1999 IHF Men's Junior World Championship" (PDF). IHF. Retrieved 5 September 2005.
  3. ^ "Denmark" Archived 2008-01-29 at the Wayback MachineEuropean Handball Federation (2008) (Retrieved on February 5, 2008)
  4. ^ "XXII Men's Handball World Championship 2011". www.ihf.info. IHF. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  5. ^ "It's France again!". www.ihf.info. IHF. 30 January 2011. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  6. ^ "Michael Knudsen at sports-reference.com". www.sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  7. ^ Angel, Katrine. "Michael V. Knudsen om ny rolle i BSH: Det er ekstremt spændende". TV Midtvest (in Danish). Retrieved 30 August 2024.
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