Denmark competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Danish athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games throughout the modern era, except for the sparsely attended 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis. The Danish team consisted of 120 athletes, 79 men and 41 women, across sixteen sports. Before the start of the games, DIF sat an official medal goal of 10 medals for the Rio games.
Denmark returned home from Rio de Janeiro with 15 medals (2 golds, 6 silver, and 7 bronze), marking the country's most successful outcome in Summer Olympic history since 1948. Three of these medals were awarded to the Danish squad in cycling, two in badminton, rowing, sailing, and swimming, and one each in sprint kayaking, track and field, and Greco-Roman wrestling. These Games also witnessed a historic moment for the male Danes in collective sports, as they overcame the two-time defending French champions 28–26 to win their first ever gold medal in the men's handball tournament.
Among the nation's medalists were badminton tandem Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Christinna Pedersen in the women's doubles, rower Morten Jørgensen, who completed a full set of medals at his third Games with a silver in the men's lightweight fours, hurdler Sara Slott Petersen, who made history by becoming the first Danish woman to ascend the podium in any track event, and Greco-Roman wrestler and three-time Olympian Mark Madsen, who brought home the country's first ever medal in his signature sport after more than eight decades.
Two Danish athletes collected more than a single medal at these Games, including track cyclist Lasse Norman Hansen, who won a bronze each in both men's team pursuit and omnium, and swimmer Pernille Blume, who outlasted the favorites in the women's 50 m freestyle to hand her country's first Olympic swimming title since 1948. Additionally, Blume helped the Danish foursome of backstroker Mie Nielsen, breaststroker and world-record holder Rikke Møller Pedersen, and butterfly sprinter and four-time Olympian Jeanette Ottesen beat the European record for the bronze medal in the women's medley relay final.
Medalists
The following Danish athletes won medals at the Games. In the by discipline sections below, medalists' names are bolded.
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Medal Name Sport Event Date Pernille Blume Swimming Women's 50 m freestyle Handball Men's tournament 21 August Jakob Fuglsang Cycling Men's road race Jacob BarsøeKasper Winther JørgensenMorten JørgensenJacob Larsen Rowing Men's lightweight four Mark Madsen Wrestling Men's Greco-Roman 75 kg Emma Åstrand Jørgensen Canoeing Women's K-1 500 m Kamilla Rytter JuhlChristinna Pedersen Badminton Women's doubles Sara Slott Petersen Athletics Women's 400 m hurdles Anne Dsane AndersenLærke Rasmussen Rowing Women's coxless pair Casper FolsachLasse Norman HansenNiklas LarsenFrederik MadsenRasmus Quaade Cycling Men's team pursuit Mie NielsenRikke Møller PedersenJeanette OttesenPernille Blume Swimming Women's 4 × 100 m medley relay Lasse Norman Hansen Cycling Men's omnium Anne-Marie Rindom Sailing Laser Radial Jena Mai HansenKatja Salskov-Iversen Sailing 49erFX Viktor Axelsen Badminton Men's singles | style="text-align:left; width:22%; vertical-align:top;"|
Medals by sportSport TotalSwimming 1 0 1 2Cycling 0 1 2 3Rowing 0 1 1 2Athletics 0 1 0 1Badminton 0 1 1 2Canoeing 0 1 0 1Wrestling 0 1 0 1Sailing 0 0 2 2Handball 1 0 0 1Total 2 6 7 15
Medals by dayDay Total6 August 0 1 0 17 August 0 0 0 08 August 0 0 0 09 August 0 0 0 010 August 0 0 0 011 August 0 1 0 112 August 0 0 2 213 August 1 0 1 214 August 0 1 0 115 August 0 0 1 116 August 0 0 1 117 August 0 0 0 018 August 0 3 1 419 August 0 0 1 120 August 0 0 0 021 August 1 0 0 1Total 2 6 7 15
Medals by genderGender TotalMale1337Female1348Total 2 6 7 15
Competitors The National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark fielded a roster of 120 athletes, 79 men and 41 women, to compete across sixteen different sports at these Games; it was the nation's largest delegation sent to the Olympics since 1972, beating the record of 119 athletes who attended the Atlanta Games two decades earlier. Denmark qualified teams in men's handball and in men's football for the first time in 24 years.
Swimming accounted for the largest number of athletes on the Danish squad by an individual-based sport, with 15 entries. There was only a single competitor each in table tennis, tennis, triathlon, and Greco-Roman wrestling.
Fourteen of the nation's Olympic medalists from London 2012 returned, with rowing tandem Rasmus Quist Hansen and Mads Rasmussen (men's lightweight double sculls), as well as track cyclist Lasse Norman Hansen (men's omnium), looking to defend their respective titles in Rio de Janeiro. Rifle prone marksman and 2000 silver medalist Torben Grimmel headed the full roster of experienced Danish athletes by competing at his fifth consecutive Games. Joining Hansen and Rasmussen as four-time Olympians were butterfly and freestyle swimmer Jeanette Ottesen, Finn sailor and 2012 silver medalist Jonas Høgh Christensen, and rower and 2012 fourth-place finalist Juliane Elander Rasmussen in the women's lightweight double sculls.
Other notable athletes on the Danish roster featured badminton player and 2014 world bronze medalist Viktor Axelsen in the men's singles, sprint kayaker and 2008 silver medalist Rene Holten Poulsen, breaststroke swimmer and current world record holder Rikke Møller Pedersen, long-distance freestyle swimmer and 2008 bronze medalist Lotte Friis, and Greco-Roman wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter Mark Madsen. Former top-ranked tennis player Caroline Wozniacki was selected by the committee to carry the Danish flag at the opening ceremony, the first by a female since 1988 and third overall in Summer Olympic history.
| width=78% align=left valign=top | The following is the list of number of competitors participating in the Games. Note that reserves in fencing, field hockey, football, and handball are not counted as athletes: SportMenWomenTotalAthletics 3 5 8Badminton 5 3 8Canoeing 1 4 5Cycling 10 3 13Equestrian 1 3 4Football 18 0 18Golf 2 2 4Handball 14 0 14Rowing 6 7 13Sailing 6 5 11Shooting 2 1 3Swimming 8 7 15Table tennis 1 0 1Tennis 0 1 1Triathlon 1 0 1Wrestling 1 0 1 Total 79 41 120
Athletics
Danish athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event): London 2012 Olympians Andreas Bube and Sara Slott Petersen, along with 2010 Youth Olympic hurdler Stina Troest, were among the first batch of Danish track and field athletes being named to the Olympic roster on 17 May 2016, and were joined by three marathon runners (one man and two women) three days later.
Track & road events Men AthleteEventHeatSemifinalFinalResultRankResultRankResultRankAndreas Bube800 m1:46.672 Q1:45.877Did not advanceOle Hesselbjerg3000 m steeplechase8:40.0811colspan=2 Did not advanceAbdi Hakin UladMarathoncolspan=4 2:17:0635
Women AthleteEventHeatSemifinalFinalResultRankResultRankResultRankAnna Holm BaumeisterMarathoncolspan=4 2:39:4955Jessica Draskau-Peterssoncolspan=4 2:36:1440Anna Emilie Møller3000 m steeplechase9:32.68 NR6colspan=2 Did not advanceSara Slott Petersen400 m hurdles55.201 Q54.552 Q53.55Stina Troest56.064 Q56.004Did not advance
Badminton
Denmark has qualified a total of eight badminton players for the following events into the Olympic tournament based on the BWF World Rankings as of 5 May 2016: two entries in the men's singles, one in the women's singles, and a pair each in the men's, women's, and mixed doubles.
Men AthleteEventGroup StageEliminationQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal / OppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreRankOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreRankViktor AxelsenSinglesW (21–11, 21–13)W (21–14, 21–13)1 QW (21–16, 21–12)W (21–12, 21–16)L (14–21, 15–21)W (15–21, 21–10, 21–17)Jan Østergaard JørgensenW (21–8, 21–15)W (21–11, 21–18)1 QL (19–21, 19–21)Did not advanceMathias BoeCarsten MogensenDoublesL (15–21, 18–21)W (21–17, 21–17)W (21–9, 9–21, 21–16)3Did not advance
Women AthleteEventGroup StageEliminationQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal / OppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreRankOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreRankLine KjærsfeldtSinglesL (16–21, 13–21)W (21–9, 21–8)2Did not advanceKamilla Rytter JuhlChristinna PedersenDoublesW (21–16, 21–18)L (11–21, 18–21)W (21–9, 21–6)2 QW (28–26, 18–21, 21–15)W (21–16, 14–21, 21–19)L (21–18, 9–21, 19–21)
Mixed AthleteEventGroup StageQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal / OppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreRankOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreRankJoachim Fischer NielsenChristinna PedersenDoublesL (24–22, 14–21, 16–21)W (21–18, 23–21)L (19–21, 24–22, 17–21)4Did not advance
Canoeing
Sprint Danish canoeists have qualified one boat in each of the following events through the 2015 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships.
AthleteEventHeatsSemifinalsFinalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankRene Holten PoulsenMen's K-1 1000 m3:35.7221 Q3:34.3444 FA3:36.8406Henriette Engel HansenWomen's K-1 200 m42.4556 Q43.3008Did not advanceEmma Åstrand JørgensenWomen's K-1 500 m1:55.6602 Q1:55.1932 FA1:54.326Henriette Engel HansenIda VillumsenWomen's K-2 500 m1:46.2464 Q1:47.4766 FB1:48.84612Henriette Engel HansenEmma Åstrand JørgensenAmalie Ringtved ThomsenIda VillumsenWomen's K-4 500 m1:36.6755 Q1:36.3023 FA1:39.0576 Qualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final (medal); FB = Qualify to final B (non-medal)
Cycling
Road Danish riders qualified for a maximum of three quota places in the men's Olympic road race by virtue of their top 15 final national ranking in the 2015 UCI Europe Tour. The road cycling team, led by two-time Olympian Jakob Fuglsang, was named to the Olympic roster on 23 June 2016.
AthleteEventTimeRankJakob FuglsangMen's road race6:10:05Christopher Juul-JensenMen's road race6:19:4332Men's time trial1:16:49.6219Chris Anker SørensenMen's road race6:30:0560
Track Following the completion of the 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Danish riders have accumulated spots in the men's team pursuit, as well as both the men's and women's omnium. The track cycling squad, highlighted by reigning Olympic champion Lasse Norman Hansen in the men's omnium, was named on 18 June 2016.
Pursuit AthleteEventQualificationSemifinalsFinalTimeRankOpponentResultsRankOpponentResultsRankCasper FolsachLasse Norman HansenNiklas LarsenFrederik MadsenRasmus QuaadeMen's team pursuit3:55.3962 Q3:53.54233:53.789 Qualification Legend: FA=Final (medal); FB=Bronze medal game; SF=Semifinals
Omnium AthleteEventScratch raceIndividual pursuitElimination raceTime trialFlying lapPoints raceTotal pointsRankRankPointsTimeRankPointsRankPointsTimeRankPointsTimeRankPointsPointsRankLasse Norman HansenMen's omnium1404:14.982 1401861:02.53853212.832434402192Amalie DideriksenWomen's omnium7283:30.26443463038:03218614:9401868511895
Mountain biking Danish mountain bikers qualified for one men's and one women's quota place each into the Olympic cross-country race, as a result of the nation's eighteenth-place finish for men and eleventh for women, respectively, in the UCI Olympic Ranking List of 25 May 2016. The mountain biking squad was named to the Olympic roster on 9 June 2016.
AthleteEventTimeRankSimon AndreassenMen's cross-country1:47:4434Annika LangvadWomen's cross-country1:33:4811
BMX Danish riders qualified for one men's and one women's quota place in BMX at the Olympics, as a result of the nation's top three placement for men, not yet qualified, at the 2016 UCI BMX World Championships, and top three for women in the UCI BMX Individual Ranking List of 31 May 2016. BMX riders Niklas Laustsen and European Games champion Simone Christensen were named to the Olympic roster on 13 June 2016.