Jesper Roesen

Jesper Roesen (born May 2, 1975 in Copenhagen) is a retired Danish taekwondo practitioner, who competed in the men's featherweight category.[1] Considering one of Europe's top taekwondo players in his own division, Roesen held three European titles (1996, 1998, and 2005), obtained two silver medals at the World Championships (1999 and 2001), and represented his nation Denmark at the 2004 Summer Olympics.[2] Throughout his sporting career, Roesen trained full-time for Hwarang Taekwondo Klub in Rødovre, under his personal coach and master Bjarne Johansen.[3]

Jesper Roesen
Personal information
Full nameJesper Roesen
Nationality Denmark
Born (1975-05-02) 2 May 1975
Copenhagen, Denmark
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Weight68 kg (150 lb)
Sport
SportTaekwondo
Event(s)68 kg
ClubHwarang Taekwondo Klub
Coached byBjarne Johansen
Medal record
Men's taekwondo
Representing  Denmark
World Championships
1999 Edmonton Featherweight (−67 kg)
2001 Jeju City Lightweight (−72 kg)
European Championships
1996 Helsinki −64 kg
1998 Eindhoven −67 kg
2005 Riga −72 kg

Roesen began his taekwondo training with Master Kytu’s Hwarang Taekwondo Klub at fourteen years old.[4] In 1996, Roesen's sporting career thrived with his first ever European title in Helsinki, Finland, and then continued to add one more in Eindhoven, Netherlands two years later. Roesen also permitted a chance to represent his nation Denmark at the World Taekwondo Championships, where he placed second behind South Korea's No Hyun-goo in 1999 and U.S. fighter Steven López in 2001.[5]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Roesen qualified for the Danish squad in the men's featherweight class (68 kg), by registering his entry and placing third from the European Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan.[6][7] Roesen got off to a flying start with a seamless 11–10 victory over Argentina's two-time Olympian Alejandro Hernando, before ending his Olympic debut by hopelessly losing the quarterfinal match 11–13 to South Korea's Song Myeong-seob.[8][9]

In 2005, Roesen brought home his third gold medal in the final against Dutch fighter Tommy Mollet at the European Championships in Riga, Latvia, marking the end of his illustrious, fifteen-year-old taekwondo career.[2]

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jesper Roesen". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  2. "Dansk EM-guld i taekwondo" [Dane wins gold at the European Taekwondo Champs] (in Danish). Politiken. 9 October 2005. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  3. "Ingen eksamensfeber hos landstræneren" [No exam fever for coach] (in Danish). Berlingske. 26 August 2004. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  4. Badasha, Kamalpreet Kaur. "Interview with Jesper Roesen". Universal Taekwondo Federation. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  5. "Taekwondo: VM-sølv til Roesen" [Taekwondo: Silver for Roesen at the World champs] (in Danish). Politiken. 1 November 2001. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  6. "Athens 2004: Taekwondo – Men's Entry List by NOC" (PDF). Athens 2004. LA84 Foundation. pp. 2–4. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  7. "Danske medaljehåb flygter fra OL-virvar" [Danish athletes flee from Olympic fuss] (in Danish). Politiken. 27 July 2004. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  8. "Taekwondo – Men's Featherweight (68kg/150lbs) Quarterfinals". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 12 August 2004. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  9. "Taekwondo: Jesper Roesen tabte tæt kvartfinale" [Taekwondo: Jesper Roesen lost the quarterfinals] (in Danish). Jyllands-Posten. 27 August 2004. Retrieved 10 January 2015.


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