With 13 medals, Denmark has ‘best Olympics ever’
The Local Denmark - [email protected]
Published: 19 Aug, 2016 CET.
Updated: Fri 19 Aug 2016 08:50 CET
The wins keep piling up for Danish athletes in Rio. Three more medals were captured on Thursday, giving the small Nordic nation 13 medals with three days of action remaining.
Thursday’s action was highlighted by Sara Slott Petersen’s historic silver medal in the 400 metre hurdles. Even before the starting gun, Petersen had made history by being the first Danish runner to ever compete in an Olympics final.
With a personal record time of 53:55, Petersen came in second behind only American Dalilah Muhammad.
“It feels like gold. It’s completely fantastic,” she told broadcaster DR after her historic performance.
The head of Denmark’s Olympics delegation, Morten Rodtwitt, was ecstatic over Petersen’s silver medal.
“I think her victory gives Danish sport a wonderful story that proves that we belong on this level. I think there are a lot of young people who are deeply inspired by Sara’s performance,” he told TV2 Sport.
But her silver was just one reason that Rodtwitt had to celebrate. With 13 medals through the end of Thursday’s action, Denmark had already surpassed its goal of leaving Rio with ten medals in hand. It’s the first time the Danish delegation has beaten its pre-Game goals since the 1948 Olympics in London.
“It is fantastic to be Danish in Rio right now, but I’m sure that there are more medals coming. This is the best Olympics we’ve ever had and that’s something we all should enjoy. This is a fantastic experience here [in Rio] and it must also be for the Danes home in Denmark,” he told TV2 Sport.
Denmark won a total of four medals on Thursday. In addition to Petersen’s silver, the badminton duo of Christinna Pedersen and Kamilla Rytter took silver, while Emma Aastrand Jørgensen won silver in the women’s kayak single 500m and Denmark claimed bronze in the Women’s 49er sailing contest.
In total, Denmark has won one gold medal, six silvers and six bronze.
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Thursday’s action was highlighted by Sara Slott Petersen’s historic silver medal in the 400 metre hurdles. Even before the starting gun, Petersen had made history by being the first Danish runner to ever compete in an Olympics final.
With a personal record time of 53:55, Petersen came in second behind only American Dalilah Muhammad.
“It feels like gold. It’s completely fantastic,” she told broadcaster DR after her historic performance.
The head of Denmark’s Olympics delegation, Morten Rodtwitt, was ecstatic over Petersen’s silver medal.
“I think her victory gives Danish sport a wonderful story that proves that we belong on this level. I think there are a lot of young people who are deeply inspired by Sara’s performance,” he told TV2 Sport.
But her silver was just one reason that Rodtwitt had to celebrate. With 13 medals through the end of Thursday’s action, Denmark had already surpassed its goal of leaving Rio with ten medals in hand. It’s the first time the Danish delegation has beaten its pre-Game goals since the 1948 Olympics in London.
“It is fantastic to be Danish in Rio right now, but I’m sure that there are more medals coming. This is the best Olympics we’ve ever had and that’s something we all should enjoy. This is a fantastic experience here [in Rio] and it must also be for the Danes home in Denmark,” he told TV2 Sport.
Denmark won a total of four medals on Thursday. In addition to Petersen’s silver, the badminton duo of Christinna Pedersen and Kamilla Rytter took silver, while Emma Aastrand Jørgensen won silver in the women’s kayak single 500m and Denmark claimed bronze in the Women’s 49er sailing contest.
In total, Denmark has won one gold medal, six silvers and six bronze.
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