Denmark at the 1896 Summer Olympics

Denmark at the Olympic Games
Flag of Denmark IOC code  DEN NOC National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark Website www.dif.dk (Danish) (English)
At the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens
Competitors	3 in 5 sports
Medals Rank: 9	Gold 1	Silver 2	Bronze 3	Total 6
Olympic history (summary)
Summer Games
1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016
Winter Games
1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Intercalated Games
1906

Three athletes from Denmark competed in five sports at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Two of the three combined to win a gold medal, two silvers, and three bronzes, while Eugen Schmidt earned no medals. Viggo Jensen contributed one of each color, while Holger Nielsen earned the second silver and two bronzes. Shooting and weightlifting were Denmark's most successful sports. Denmark had 15 entries in 12 events, winning six medals.

Medalists

Medal	Name	Sport	Event	Date
01 ! Gold	Jensen, ViggoViggo Jensen	Weightlifting	Men's two hand lift	000000002015-04-07-0000April 7
02 ! Silver	Nielsen, HolgerHolger Nielsen	Shooting	Men's 30 m free pistol	000000002015-04-11-0000April 11
02 ! Silver	Jensen, ViggoViggo Jensen	Weightlifting	Men's one hand lift	000000002015-04-07-0000April 7
03 ! Bronze	Nielsen, HolgerHolger Nielsen	Fencing	Men's sabre	000000002015-04-09-0000April 9
03 ! Bronze	Jensen, ViggoViggo Jensen	Shooting	Men's 300 m free rifle, three positions	000000002015-04-12-0000April 12
03 ! Bronze	Nielsen, HolgerHolger Nielsen	Shooting	Men's 25 m rapid fire pistol	000000002015-04-11-0000April 11

Results by event

Athletics

Viggo Jensen

Denmark's three athletes had little success in the 100 metres or the discus throw. Jensen took fourth place in the shot put competition, the closest to an athletics medal the Danish team came.

Fencing

One of Nielsen's two bronzes came in the fencing competition, in which he won half of his four matches.

Gymnastics

Jensen placed fourth of five competitors in the rope climbing contest, not reaching the top of the 14-metre rope. His actual distance climbed is unknown save that it was less than 12.5 metres, the distance of the bronze medallist.

Shooting

Jensen and Nielsen both earned bronze medals in the shooting competitions, with Nielsen also winning a silver medal. Jensen specialized in the rifle events, taking 6th of 42 and 3rd of 20 in the two events. Nielsen did not finish his rifle competition, but performed well in the pistol events, in which he won two medals and took 5th place of 16 in the third event.

Weightlifting

Jensen tied Launceston Elliot for weight lifted in the first event, the two handed lift. Prince George of Greece, the judge for the event, determined that Jensen had lifted the 111.5 kilograms in better style than Elliot, awarded the Dane the gold medal. In the second event, the one handed, Jensen's 57 kilograms were not close to Elliot's 71 kilograms and thus Jensen took second place in that event.

References

• Lampros, S.P.; Polites, N.G.; De Coubertin, Pierre; Philemon, P.J.; & Anninos, C. (1897). The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck.  (Digitally available at )
• Mallon, Bill; & Widlund, Ture (1998). The 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9.  (Excerpt available at )
• Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X.