Denmark at the 1896 Summer Olympics

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.

Denmark at the
1896 Summer Olympics
IOC codeDEN
NOCNational Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark
Websitewww.dif.dk (in Danish and English)
in Athens
Competitors3 in 5 sports
Medals
Ranked 9th
Gold
1
Silver
2
Bronze
3
Total
6
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games

Medalists

Medal Name Sport Event Date
 Gold Viggo JensenWeightlifting Men's two hand lift April 7
 Silver Holger NielsenShooting Men's 30 m free pistol April 11
 Silver Viggo JensenWeightlifting Men's one hand lift April 7
 Bronze Holger NielsenFencing Men's sabre April 9
 Bronze Viggo JensenShooting Men's 300 m free rifle, three positions April 12
 Bronze Holger NielsenShooting Men's 25 m rapid fire pistol April 11

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.

Athlete Events Heat Final
Result Rank Result Rank
Eugen Schmidt 100 m Unknown 4 Did not advance
Viggo Jensen shot put N/A Unknown 4
discus throw N/A Unknown 5–9
Holger Nielsen N/A Unknown 5–9

Fencing

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

Athlete Event Record Touches Final Rank
Wins Losses For Against
Holger Nielsen Sabre 2 2 10 9
Opponent nationWinsLossesPercent
Austria101.000
Greece12.333
Total22.500

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 but it was less than 12.5 metres, the distance of the bronze medallist.

Athlete Event Result Rank
Viggo Jensen Rope climbing Unknown 4

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.

Shooter Event Hits Score Rank
Holger Nielsen 25 m military pistol Unknown 5
25 m rapid fire pistol Unknown
30 m free pistol 285 Unknown
200 m military rifle DNF
Eugen Schmidt 200 m military rifle 845 12 12
Viggo Jensen 200 m military rifle 1640 30 6
300m free rifle 1305 31

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.

Athlete Event Weight Rank
Viggo Jensen One hand lift 57.0
Two hand lift 111.5

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.
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