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Denmark at the Olympics

Denmark participated in the very first of the modern Olympic Games in 1896. They sent only three athletes to the 1896 Summer Games but those three athletes managed to win six Olympic medals. Viggo Jensen became Denmark's first-ever Olympic gold medalist when he won the men's two hand lift in April 7, 1896 in Athens, Greece. He also managed to win the silver for the men's one hand lift on the same day and the bronze for the men's 300 meter free rifle, three position in April 12. Holger Nielsen on the other hand won the silver in men's 30 meter free pistol, and the bronze for the men's sabre (fencing) and men's 25 meter rapid fire pistol. Those two set the bar for the following Summer Games athletes for Denmark.



As a matter of fact, Denmark has consistently won at least one gold medal in the Summer Games in most outings. There were only four instances when Denmark was not able to grab the gold in the Summer Games (1908, 1932, 1936 and 1984). Denmark also has attended virtually all of the modern Summer Games, missing only the 1904 Summer Games in St. Louis, USA.

The Winter Games is a little bit trickier for Denmark. Since their debut in 1948, they have missed a total of five Winter Games. And they also had to wait five decades before they took home their first medal from the Winter Games. Their women's curling team won the silver in Nagano, Japan 1998.

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