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Record year for Danish elite athletes
Lucie Rychla
December 27th, 2016
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This article is more than 7 years old.
More resources are needed to ensure good results in the future, believes elite team leader
Mark Madsen wrestled his way to a silver medal in Rio (photo: Danmark til OL – Lars Møller)
Danish elite athletes have never won so many medals as in 2016, according to the Danish athletic association (DIF).
The Danes have collected 146 medals and in 42 cases they returned home with gold. In comparison, Danish sportspeople won only 88 medals in 2012.
The highlight of the year were the Olympic Games in Rio, where Denmark won 15 medals – the second biggest haul in Danish history and six more than in 2012.
Additionally, many sports triumphs such as Caroline Wozniacki’s two wins at WTA tournaments and seven victories of the national badminton team in the BWF Super Series, are not included in the statistics.
READ MORE: An Olympic performance that won the public’s heart
Strong competition
“The competition is stronger than ever, yet we are able to develop and improve. It shows that our system works,” Morten Rodtwitt, the leaders of the Danish elite team at DIF, told DR.
“We are good at getting the most out of the resources we have, but we must not rest on our laurels. We must ensure that more resources [are invested] into elite sport and make use of them.”
According to the organisation for elite sports, Team Danmark, swimmer Jeanette Ottesen and bowling player Jesper Agerbo have collected the most medals this year – six each.
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