Niclas Kirkeløkke

Niclas Vest Kirkeløkke (born 26 March 1994) is a Danish handball player for SG Flensburg-Handewitt and the Danish national team. He primarily plays right back but has also been deployed as a right winger for the national team. This shift is largely due to his strong defensive skills in the right back position and to accommodate Mathias Gidsel on the right back position.

Career Kirkeløkke began his handball career in Risøhøj Håndbold at the U6 age group, before making the move to GOG at the age of 11.

In 2012, he was promoted to the senior team of GOG, then playing in the second tier, the 1st Division. He participated in the 2013 Men's Youth World Handball Championship, where Denmark won the tournament by beating Croatia in the final, and he was named to the all-star team.

He debuted for the Danish national team on 3 November 2016 against the Netherlands. Two months later, he played in his first major international tournament, the 2017 World Men's Handball Championship.

In 2018, he joined German club Rhein-Neckar Löwen. In May 2021, he extended his contract with the club. With Rhein-Neckar Löwen, he won the 2022–23 DHB-Pokal.

In 2023, he was part of the Danish team that won the 2023 World Championship.

For the 2024–25 season, he joined league rivals SG Flensburg-Handewitt on a three-year deal.

In 2025, he won the World Championship for the second time with Denmark.

At the 2026 European Men's Handball Championship he won gold medals, meaning that Denmark held both the World, European and Olympic titles at the same time, as only the second team ever after France's 'Les Experts'.

Individual awards All-Star Right back of the Youth World Championship: 2013

Personal life Kirkeløkke is the son of Gun-Britt Kirkeløkke, who played many matches for the youth and junior national teams in the early 1980s. Gun-Britt's twin sister, Gun-Maj Kirkeløkke, also played 25 A-national matches from 1985 to 1987. His sister, Sarah Kirkeløkke, is also a professional handball player.