Niels Holst-Sørensen
 Niels Holst-Sørensen in 1946 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born |
19 December 1922 Sønder Felding, Herning, Denmark |
| Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) |
| Weight | 70 kg (154 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event(s) | 400 m, 800 m |
| Club | Københavns Idræts Forening |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) |
400 m – 47,6 (1944) 800 m – 1:48.9 (1943)[1] |
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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 in 1970–1982 and Denmark's military representative to NATO in 1982–1986.[2] He won gold and silver medals at the 1946 European Athletics Championships and served as a member of the International Olympic Committee from 1977 to 2002.[2]
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.[3] 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.[3] 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,[4] but finished the final in eighth place in a time of 1:53.4.[2]
Holst-Sørensen won a total of ten Danish championships over 400 and 800 metres, winning both events every year from 1943 to 1947.[5] In 1943 he won the 800 metres in a time of 1:48.9, the fastest time recorded in the world that year.[6] Holst-Sørensen began his career running for Herning GF, but switched to Københavns Idræts Forening in 1944.[5]
Holst-Sørensen joined to International Olympic committee in 1977 and served as a member until 2002.[2] 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.[2] He was named as an honorary member of the IOC following his retirement in 2002.[2] Holst-Sørensen also served as the president of the National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark from 1981 to 1984.[2]
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.[2] 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.[2] He retired from the Air Force in 1987.[2]
References
- ↑ Niels Holst-Sørensen. sports-reference.com
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Mr Niels HOLST-SØRENSEN". olympic.org. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
- 1 2 "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.
- 1 2 "Niels Holst Sørensen". dafital.dk. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
- ↑ "Index of Who's Who in Running". runtheplanet.com. Retrieved 7 December 2009.