Niels Holst-Sørensen
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's athletics | ||
Competitor for  Denmark
| ||
| European Championships | ||
| Gold | 1946 Oslo | 400 m |
| Silver | 1946 Oslo | 800 m |
Niels Holst-Sørensen (born 19 December 1922) is a former Danish athlete and air force officer. He served as the commander-in-chief of the Royal Danish Air Force from 1970-1982 and Denmark's military representative to NATO from 1982-1986.[1] He won gold and silver medals at the 1946 European Athletics Championships and served as a member of the International Olympic Committee from 1977-2002.[1]
Athletic career
Holst-Sørensen's first major international meeting was the 1946 European Championships, which took place in Oslo. Holst-Sørensen won the gold medal in the 400 metres with a time of 47.9 seconds.[2] He won a silver medal over 800 metres, finishing a tenth of a second behind the Swedish athlete Rune Gustafsson in a time of 1:51.1.[2] He was also a member of the Danish team which finished fourth in the 4 x 400 metres relay in a time of 3:15.4.
Holst-Sørensen competed in the 800 metres at the 1948 Olympics in London. He qualified for the final in a time of 1:52.4,[3] but finished the final in eighth place in a time of 1:53.4.[1]
Holst-Sørensen won a total of ten Danish championships over 400 and 800 metres, winning both events every year from 1943 to 1947.[4] In 1943 he won the 800 metres in a time of 1:48.9, the fastest time recorded in the world that year.[5] Holst-Sørensen began his career running for Herning GF, but switched to Københavns Idræts Forening in 1944.[4]
Holst-Sørensen joined to International Olympic committee in 1977 and served as a member until 2002.[1] He served on the IOC's coordination committees for the Winter Olympic Games in Albertville in 1992, Lillehammer in 1994, Nagano in 1998 and Salt Lake City in 2002.[1] He was named as an honorary member of the IOC following his retirement in 2002.[1] Holst-Sørensen also served as the president of the National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark from 1981 to 1984.[1]
Military career
Holst-Sørensen is a graduate of the Royal Danish Army Officers Academy and was a serving Lieutenant in the Royal Danish Army during his athletic career.[1] He was transferred to the Royal Danish Air Force at its foundation in 1950. He eventually rose to the rank of Major General and served as the commander-in-chief of the Air Force from 1970 to 1982 and Denmark's military representative to NATO from 1982 to 1986.[1] He retired from the Air Force in 1987.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 "Mr Niels HOLST-SØRENSEN". olympic.org. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "European Championships (Men)". GBRAthletics.com. 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
- ↑ "Athletics at the 1948 London Summer Games: Men's 800 metres Semi-Finals". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Niels Holst Sørensen". dafital.dk. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
- ↑ "Index of Who's Who in Running". runtheplanet.com. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
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