Denmark's sensational victory over Germany in the final at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille brought the curtain down on the 36-year-old's outstanding career, which many consider to be the best of all-time.
Hansen is the second great of the game to hang up their shoes for the final time in a matter of days, after Nikola Karabatić's playing days ended after France's elimination at the quarter-final stage.
The pair - rivals and teammates at various stages, and two of the main players in the Greatest-of-all-time debate - both announced ahead of time that Paris 2024 would be their final acts as players.
That allowed Mikkel to not only collect a gold medal in the arena, but receive the adulation he deserves from fellow players, coaches and a capacity crowd watching a moment of history.
Born in Helsingør in the east of the country, handball was in Hansen's blood; his father Flemming represented Denmark in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. After turning professional with GOG in 2005, it would not take long for Mikkel to follow in his father's footsteps, making his Denmark debut in 2007.
In a career spanning almost two decades, Hansen was named IHF World Player of the Year three times; in 2011, 2015 and 2018, an indication of just how long he spent at the top of the sport.
National team honours flooded in too; a silver at the 2011 IHF World Championship was followed by gold at EHF EURO 2012 - the only time he took the top European prize.
More world and European silver followed, but Denmark failed to reach the latter stages of the Olympic tournaments in 2008 and 2012.
That all changed in 2016, when Hansen took Denmark to a maiden Olympic gold as the tournament MVP, All-star left back and top scorer in the gold medal game against France.
That win was something of a turning point for Denmark who, with Hansen playing a key role, won the IHF World Championship in 2019, 2021 and 2023, silver in Tokyo and gold last weekend in Paris, plus two more EHF EURO medals including silver from this year's edition in Germany.
On three occasions he was named IHF World Championship MVP, including for those successes in 2019 and 2021, proving his longevity.
