Sport in Denmark is diverse. The national sport is running, but club sport is

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

with the most notable results being qualifying for the European Championships six times in a row (1984–2004) and winning the Championship in 1992. Other significant achievements include winning the Confederations Cup in 1995 and reaching the quarter final of the

1998 World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...

. Other popular sports include

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

esports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...

, cycling, sailing sports, badminton, ice hockey, swimming, and recently also golf. A few youths also play basketball. Sport is encouraged in school, and there are local sports clubs in all cities and most towns. The national stadium for football is the Parken Stadium.

Football

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

is the most popular sport in Denmark, with over 313,000 players in more than 1600 clubs. The national football team in Denmark have reached high and notable results, like qualifying for the

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

six times in a row (1984–2004) and winning the UEFA Championship in 1992. Other significant achievements include winning the Confederations Cup in 1995 and reaching the quarter final of the

. Denmark national football team reached #3 ranking in the FIFA ranking in May 1997, and #1 at the World Football Elo Ratings system in (1912–1920). The top-league in Danish football is called The Danish Superliga. The reigning champions are

F.C. Copenhagen Football Club Copenhagen ( da, Football Club København, ), commonly known as FC København, FC Copenhagen, Copenhagen or simply FCK, is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on ...

, while they are also the most successful club ever in financial terms. Famous Superliga players include Per Nielsen,

Jimmy Nielsen Jimmy Nielsen (born 6 August 1977) is a Danish-American retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Until June 2007, he played 398 games for Danish team AaB Fodbold. Playing every league match for AaB since 1997, Nielsen won the 1999 Danish ...

, Michael Hansen,

Mogens Krogh Mogens Krogh (; born 31 October 1963) is a Danish former professional football player who was most recently manager of Næstved BK. In his playing career, Krogh was the first choice goalkeeper of Ikast fS between 1981 and 1991 and of Brøndby f ...

Daniel Agger Daniel Munthe Agger (; born 12 December 1984) is a Danish professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of Danish 1st Division club HB Køge. As an active player, he played as a central defender for Brøndby and Liverpool a ...

and

Jesper Grønkjær Jesper Grønkjær (; born 12 August 1977) is a Danish former professional footballer. A pacey winger, Grønkjær played primarily on the right or left wing, or as a second striker. He played a total 400 league games for a number of European cl ...

. The second level league is the

Danish 1st Division The 1st Division (''1. Division'') is the second-highest football league in Denmark, also known as NordicBet Liga for sponsorship reasons. From 1945 to 1991 the 1. Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark. With the forma ...

, which was last won by Lyngby Boldklub. The third tier is made up of the two Danish 2nd Divisions: East and West. The last two champions were

NordVest Nordvest ( lit.: Northwest, short form of Copenhagen North West) or The North West Block is an area in Denmark's Copenhagen municipality. It is located in the southwestern part of the Bispebjerg district. Although there are no clear borders nor a ...

(East) and

Blokhus FC Jammerbugt Fodbold Club is a Danish association football club currently playing in the Danish 2nd Division. They play at Jetsmark Stadion in Pandrup, North Jutland, which has a capacity of 6,000. The club was former known as Jetsmark IF, which s ...

(West). The fourth tier is the

Denmark Series The Denmark Series ( da, Danmarksserien) is the fifth tier in the Danish football league system. Teams are divided into four groups of ten. The top team in each group is promoted to the Danish 3rd Division. The bottom three teams in each group are ...

, which is split into three pools. The last champions were

BK Marienlyst Boldklubben Marienlyst, commonly known as BK Marienlyst, Marienlyst, or BM, is an association football club based in Odense, Denmark, that competes in the Denmark Series, the fourth tier of the Danish football league system. Founded in 1922, it ...

IF Skjold Birkerød Idrætsforeningen Skjold Birkerød (; commonly known as Skjold Birkerød), is a sports club based in Birkerød, Denmark. Skjold is mostly known for its association football department, which competes in the Denmark Series, the fourth tier of t ...

and

Kjellerup IF Kjellerup Idrætsforening is a Danish football club currently playing in the Denmark Series, the fifth tier of the Danish football league system. They play at Bjerget Stadium in Kjellerup, Central Jutland. History The club was formed in summ ...

. The top women's league is the

Elitedivisionen The Danish Women's League ( da, Danmarksturneringens Kvindeliga, Kvinde-DM Liga or Kvindeligaen) is a semi-professional top-flight league for women's football in Denmark. It is organised by the Danish Football Association (DBU) as part of the ...

, most recently won by

Fortuna Hjørring Fortuna Hjørring is a women's association football team from Hjørring, Denmark. The club was formed in 1966 and play in green and white. Their biggest achievement in European football was reaching the 2002–03 UEFA Women's Cup final where they ...

. HEI Aarhus are the most successful team, with 10 titles. The premier cup competition is the Danish Cup, won in 2016 by

. AGF are 9 time champions. Copenhagen are also the last winners of the

Danish Supercup The Danish Super Cup was played for by the Football in Denmark, Danish Danish Superliga, League champions and the Danish Cup, Danish Cup Winners. Winners *1994 : Brøndby IF 4-0 Silkeborg IF *1995 : F.C. Copenhagen 2-1 AaB Fodbold, Aalbor ...

, back in 2004, of which

Brøndby IF Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening (, usually abbreviated to Brøndby IF (), is a professional association football club based in Brøndbyvester, Capital Region of Denmark. The club was founded in 1964 as a merger between two local clubs and was p ...

are the most successful club. Brøndby are the only winners of the twice-held Danish League Cup. The

Danish Women's Cup The Danish Women's Cup, or Sydbank Kvindepokalen (previously 3F Cup) for sponsorship reasons, is the national women's football cup competition in Denmark and was first held in 1993. List of finals The list of finals: By titles See also * ...

has been won the last three times in a row by

, and seven times overall by

. The current manager of the national team is

Kasper Hjulmand Kasper Hjulmand (born 9 April 1972) is a Danish football manager and a former player. He is the head coach for the Denmark national team. Playing career A defender, Hjulmand began his career with Randers Freja in 1987 where he played four ye ...

, and

Simon Kjær Simon Thorup Kjær (born 26 March 1989) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club AC Milan and captains the Denmark national team. He was named 2007 Danish under-19 talent of the year and 2009 Danish Talent of t ...

is the captain. Legendary former players include

Poul "Tist" Nielsen Niels Poul "Tist" Nielsen (25 December 1891 – 9 August 1962) was a Danish footballer who is the joint all-time best goalscorer for the Denmark national team with 52 goals in 38 matches. Nielsen won a silver medal with the national team at t ...

, Peter Schmeichel,

Jon Dahl Tomasson Jon Dahl Tomasson (; born 29 August 1976) is a Danish football manager and former player who is the current head coach of EFL Championship club Blackburn Rovers. A forward, his most notable run of football came in his first stint at Feyenoord, w ...

, Allan Simonsen and Michael Laudrup.

Handball

Denmark has a long history with handball, with the sport originating in Denmark. Handball is one of the most popular pastimes in Denmark, only exceeded by football. There are over 146,000 licensed handball players in Denmark. Both the male and female national teams have reached high international rankings. Denmark women's national handball team have won the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

gold medal a record three times, the

European Women's Handball Championship The European Women's Handball Championship is the official competition for senior women's national handball teams of Europe, and takes place every two years. In addition to crowning the European champions, the tournament also serves as a qualifyi ...

three times, and the World Women's Handball Championship once. The male national team won the European Men's Handball Championship in 2008 and 2012, won gold at the Olympics in 2016 and has become world champions three times in a row, in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

and

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

, which is a feat no other country has managed. Denmark co-hosted the 2019 tournament with Germany, and will do so again in

2025 Predicted and scheduled events *January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1929 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** The American FAA will have been imp ...

, this time with Croatia and Norway .

Motorcycle speedway

Denmark have marked their status as one of the leading

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...

countries. Denmark has won the Speedway World Cup four times in 2006, 2008, 2012 and 2014 and came second in 2007 missing only two points to Poland. Danish Speedway World Championship Champions include Ole Olsen, Erik Gundersen, Hans Nielsen (nicknamed "The Professor", four-times World Champion), and Nicki Pedersen, the 2003, 2007, and 2008 World Champion. Erik Gundersen and Hans Nielsen occupied the first two places at

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

in 1984. In fact, there were two Danes on top of the table in each and every World final from 1984 to 1988 - a somewhat extraordinary record. Gundersen and Nielsen took three titles each as the Danes won six successive and seven out of eight titles from 1984 to 1991.

Ice hockey

There are seven Danish ice hockey players currently in the National Hockey League (NHL):

Lars Eller Lars Fosgaard Eller (born 8 May 1989) is a Danish professional ice hockey player for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "the Tiger", he was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the first round, 13th overall in th ...

of the Colorado Avalanche,

Frederik Andersen Frederik "Freddie" Andersen (born 2 October 1989) is a Danish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs. Andersen was a ...

of the Carolina Hurricanes, Nikolaj Ehlers of the Winnipeg Jets,

Alexander True Alexander True (born 27 July 1997) is a Danish–Filipino professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre currently playing for MoDo Hockey in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Born and raised in Denmark, True played for the Rungsted Ishocke ...

of the Seattle Kraken,

Oliver Bjorkstrand Oliver Bjorkstrand (born 10 April 1995) is a Danish professional ice hockey forward for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). Bjorkstrand was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third round, 89th overall, of the 2013 N ...

of the Seattle Kraken,

Mads Søgaard Mads Søgaard (born 13 December 2000) is a Danish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Senators in the second round, 37th overall, in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Af ...

of the Ottawa Senators and

Jonas Røndbjerg Jonas Røndbjerg (born 31 March 1999) is a Danish professional ice hockey forward for the Henderson Silver Knights of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract as a prospect for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League ...

of the Vegas Golden Knights. Other Danes who have played in the NHL include

Frans Nielsen Frans Nielsen (born 24 April 1984) is a Danish former professional ice hockey Forward who played with the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League (NHL). Nielsen was the first Danish citizen to play in the NHL. ...

Jannik Hansen Jannik Hansen (born 15 March 1986) is a Danish former professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), right winger. Hansen began playing professionally at the age of 16 with both the Rødovre Mighty Bulls of the AL-Bank Ligaen, Danish league and t ...

Peter Regin Peter Regin Jensen (born 16 April 1986) is a Danish professional ice hockey player who plays for Eisbären Berlin of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the third round (87th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry ...

Philip Larsen Philip Elzer Gade Larsen (born 7 December 1989) is a Danish professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently playing with Esbjerg Energy of the Metal Ligaen (DEN). He was originally drafted 149th overall by the Dallas Stars in the 2008 NHL En ...

and Oliver Lauridsen. The first Dane to play a game in the NHL was

on January 6, 2006.

became the first Dane to win the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

with Washington Capitals in 2018. There also many Danes in top level leagues like KHL and

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (officially SHL; sv, Svenska Hockeyligan) is a professional ice hockey league, and the highest division in the Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, an ...

. The

Denmark men's national ice hockey team The Danish national men's ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team for Denmark. The team is controlled by Danmarks Ishockey Union. It was founded in 1949, and as of 2022, the Danish team was ranked 10th in the IIHF World Rankings. Denmark ...

have been in the best division since 2003. The Danish national hockey team scored two historic, unexpected upsets in Tampere, Finland, defeating the United States 5-2 on April 26, 2003 and tied Canada 2-2 six days later on May 2, 2003. At the 2010 World Championship Denmark finished eighth place, which is their best placing to date. The

and the Denmark women's national ice hockey team are both currently number 10 on the IIHF World Ranking. In 2018 Denmark was the host of the

2018 IIHF World Championships Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...

Herning Herning () is a Danish town in the Central Denmark Region of the Jutland peninsula. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Herning Municipality. Herning has a population of 50,565 (1 January 2022)Copenhagen were the host cities.

Badminton

Denmark is Europe's strongest badminton country. Danish players have won 11 gold medals at the World Championships since 1977, 63 gold medals at the European Badminton Championships since 1968, and 19 titles at the Europe Cup since 1978. The Denmark national badminton team has won the 2016 Thomas Cup, and has been runner-up eight times in the Thomas Cup, three times in the Uber Cup, and two times in the Sudirman Cup. At the In men's badminton, Viktor Axelsen, the current world’s number one in singles since 2021, has won two gold medals at the BWF World Championship (2017 and 2022), and one gold medal at the Olympic Games (2020).

Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen (born 20 September 1965) is the current President of the Badminton World Federation and a retired Danish badminton player who won major international singles titles in the 1990s, and ranks among Denmark's badminton greats. ...

's victory at the

1996 Olympic Games The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

is one of two gold medals for Europe. Erland Kops won seven All England Open Badminton Championships in singles and four All England titles in doubles from the late 1950s to the late 1960s, whilst Morten Frost was one of the top players of the 1980s, winning the

1984 World Badminton Grand Prix The 1984 World Badminton Grand Prix was the second edition of the World Badminton Grand Prix finals. It was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consis ...

and four All England singles titles. Topped the world rankings from 1998 to 2001 and with 22 Grand-Prix titles, Peter Gade is one of the world's most successful badminton players. In women's badminton,

Kirsten Thorndahl Kirsten Thorndahl (also known as Kirsten Granlund) (9 April 1928 – 21 September 2007) was a Danish badminton player. She became the first player to become All England champion in all three categories: women's singles, women's doubles and mixed ...

and

Tonny Ahm Tonny Kristine Ahm (f. Olsen) (21 September 1914 – 7 April 1993) was a female badminton player from Denmark. She won 26 Danish National Championships between 1935 and 1957. She won eleven events at the prestigious All-England Championsh ...

claimed singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles titles at the All England. Lene Køppen and Camilla Martin have won singles titles at the World Championships and All-England. Other notable women's players include

Ulla Strand Ulla Strand (21 March 1943 - 7 August 2007) (born as Ulla Rasmussen) was badminton player of Denmark who excelled from the early 1960s to the early 1970s. Though she won three Danish national singles titles and reached the women's singles final ...

(All-England doubles titles),

Rikke Olsen Rikke Olsen Siegemund (born 19 April 1975) is a retired badminton player from Denmark. She won the mixed doubles title at the World Junior Championships in 1992 and the girls' doubles title at the European Junior Championships in 1993. Born in ...

(six World Championship medals),

Helene Kirkegaard Helene Green Kirkegaard (born 5 May 1971) is a retired Danish badminton player from Lillerød badminton club. She competed at the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics. At the 1995 IBF World Championships, she won a silver medal in the mixed doubles with ...

(two medals at the World Championships),

Tine Baun Tine Baun (née Rasmussen; born 21 July 1979) is a Danish former badminton player. Most notably, she won the All England Open Badminton Championships women's singles title three times in 2008, 2010, and 2013 – the last of these being her final ...

(All-England singles titles), Kamilla Rytter Juhl (World mixed doubles title), and Christinna Pedersen (two Olympic and five World Championship medals). The premier international badminton tournament in Denmark is the Denmark Open, which is part of the BWF World Tour. Meanwhile, the

Danish National Badminton Championships The Danish National Badminton Championships is a tournament organized to crown the best badminton players in Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denma ...

is the most prestigious tournament for Danish players, and the

Danish Badminton League The Danish Badminton League, is the national team tournament for badminton clubs in Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = ...

is the main tournament for Danish clubs.

Cycling

Michael Rasmussen 2005 TdF Stage 20 St Etienne ITT

Historically, Denmark's most successful name in cycling has been

Thorvald Ellegaard Thorvald Ellegaard (7 March 1877 - 27 April 1954) was a leading Danish track cycling, track racing cycle sport, cyclist in the 1900s and 1910s. He won the world professional sprint (cycling), sprint title six times, three European titles, and 24 ...

won the world professional

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...

title in six times, three European titles, and 24 Danish titles. In recent years, Denmark has made a mark as a strong cycling nation, with Bjarne Riis winning Tour de France in 1996, and Michael Rasmussen reaching King of the Mountains status, in the Tour 2005 and 2006. Other well-known Danish riders are

Matti Breschel Matti Breschel (born 31 August 1984) is a Danish retired professional road racing cyclist, who competed between 2005 and 2019 for the , , and teams. Career Junior career Born in Ballerup, Breschel got his breakthrough with small Danish Tea ...

Nicki Sørensen Nicki Sørensen (born 14 May 1975) is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer, and was directeur sportif of UCI Professional Continental team . He competed in five consecutive editions of the Tour de France from 2001 to 2005. Riding as a ...

Bo Hamburger Bo Hamburger (born 24 May 1970 in Frederiksberg) is a Danish former professional road racing cyclist. He retired in 2006. Biography After ending his career, Hamburger started a building company and a bike shop. He was the leading directeur sport ...

, Jesper Skibby, Jakob Fuglsang and Lars Michaelsen. Two Danish riders have won monuments, the five most prestigious one-day classics:

Rolf Sørensen Rolf Sørensen (born 20 April 1965) is a former Danish professional road bicycle racer. He is currently working as a cycling commentator and agent. Born in Helsinge in Denmark, Sørensen moved to Italy at the age of 17, where he has lived since ...

, who won Liège–Bastogne–Liège in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

and the Tour of Flanders in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, and Fuglsang, who won the 2019 edition of Liège–Bastogne–Liège.

Team Saxo Bank Tinkoff () was a Russian-registered professional cycling team from Russia and previously Denmark. It competed in the UCI World Tour. The team was owned by Russian Oleg Tinkov and, from 1999 until March 2015, was managed by former Tour de France ...

has been the most successful cycling team in Denmark: the team was founded in 1998 as Team Home-Jack and Jones and led by Bjarne Riis from the following year. It competed as a Danish-registered team until 2014, when it switched its registration to Russia after being sold to Russian businessman Oleg Tinkov, although Riis stayed as the team's manager until 2015. In 2008 Carlos Sastre won the Tour de France while riding for Saxo Bank, one of five Grand Tour wins the team took in an eight year span. They also enjoyed success in the monuments, with Fabian Cancellara (who won

Milan–San Remo Milan–San Remo (in Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it is t ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and the Tour of Flanders in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

), Andy Schleck (who won Liège–Bastogne–Liège in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

) and Nick Nuyens (who won the Tour of Flanders in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

). In addition Cancellara won two World Road Time Trial Championship titles whilst riding for the team. In the past years, the Danish cycling has suffered from dope-cases. Bjarne Riis, Bo Hamburger, Rolf Sørensen, Jesper Skibby, Michael Rasmussen all confessed doping use, or were related with doping. But despite all the bad publicity, cycling is still quite a popular sport in Denmark. In 2011, Copenhagen hosted the UCI world championships on the road.

Golf

Golf has become a highly popular sport in recent years in Denmark with more than 180

courses Course may refer to: Directions or navigation * Course (navigation), the path of travel * Course (orienteering), a series of control points visited by orienteers during a competition, marked with red/white flags in the terrain, and corresponding ...

across the country. Golf is mostly popular among the older demographic, with more members over the age of 24 than any other sport in Denmark. In pro golf, Thomas Bjørn has dominated the Danish scene for many years, along with Anders Hansen, Søren Hansen and

Steen Tinning Steen Tinning (born 7 October 1962) is a Danish professional golfer who formerly played on the European Tour and plays on the European Senior Tour. Career Tinning was born in Copenhagen. After a successful amateur career he turned professional in ...

on the European Tour. On the

Ladies European Tour The Ladies European Tour is a professional golf tour for women which was founded in 1978. It is based at Buckinghamshire Golf Club near London in England. Like many UK-based sports organisations it is a company limited by guarantee, a legal stru ...

Iben Tinning Iben Tinning (born 4 February 1974 in Copenhagen) is a Danish professional golfer. Her first two wins on the Ladies European Tour (LET) came in 2002. In 2003, she won the LPGA Tour's Qualifying Tournament, but her 2004 LPGA rookie season was disa ...

is the most successful Danish player.

American Football

American football is a minor sport in Denmark with Well under 1.000 players. The governing body the Danish American Football Federation was formed in 1988. The top level league is the

National Ligaen National Ligaen is the top American football league in Denmark founded in 1988. It is organized by the Danish American Football Federation. The league finale and the winning trophy is called #Mermaid Bowl, Mermaid Bowl. The Copenhagen Towers won ...

. The final game for the national championship is called the

Mermaid Bowl National Ligaen is the top American football league in Denmark founded in 1988. It is organized by the Danish American Football Federation. The league finale and the winning trophy is called Mermaid Bowl. The Copenhagen Towers won the 2022 fin ...

and the first was played in 1988. The national teams both youth and senior level has competed in the European Championship of American football.

Basketball

Denmark's national team had a few strong showings at senior and youth level. The Bakken Bears currently hold the attendance record for a single basketball game in Denmark.

Boxing

Denmark has many great boxers, including former

Super Middleweight Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pounds ( ...

World Boxing Council World Champion and Super Middleweight World Boxing Association (WBA) World Champion, Mikkel Kessler. Former great boxers include

Johnny Bredahl Johnny Bredahl Johansen (born 27 August 1968), known professionally as Johnny Bredahl or Johny Wahid Johansen, is a Danish former professional boxer who competed between 1989 and 2006. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the ...

a former

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...

and WBA champion and Brian Nielsen who fought

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is cons ...

in 2001. The active boxer

Ahmed Khaddour Ahmad "Babyface" Kaddour (born January 1, 1982, Lebanon) is a professional boxer. Personal life Born in Tripoli, Lebanon, Kaddour's parents fled the 1982 Lebanon War and Ahmad grew up in Denmark where he got his start in boxing. He has moved b ...

who was in the American reality TV show '' The Contender'' also comes from Denmark. Other boxers that have won titles at an international level are Patrick Nielsen and his brother Micki Nielsen.

Cricket

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

has a little presence in Denmark. But the Denmark national cricket team has been performing well in Europe. Cricket has been played in Denmark since the mid 19th century, brought there by the British. As well as the men's team, the Denmark national women's cricket team has also played international matches.

Flag football

The Danish flag football team, is one of the best Flag football teams in the world, having won a record 6 consecutive

EFAF European Flag Football Championship Men Results Medal table Women Results Medal table References European Federation of American Football{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923234243/http://www.efaf.info/text.php?Inhalt=euroflag%2F , date=2015-09-23 Europe ...

and 2 bronze medals. They also won 4 silver medals at the IFAF Flag Football World Championship and 2 bronze medals. The women's team also had success, as they won the european championship in 2017 hosted in Denmark.

Mixed martial arts

Denmark has various Mixed Martial Arts fighters with the most prominent being Martin Kampmann. Kampmann fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as a 170-pound welterweight and was considered one of the best fighters in the division. Other Danish fighters that have competed in the UFC include Anna Elmose, Nicolas Dalby, Joachim Christensen, Christian Colombo, and

Mads Burnell Mads Burnell (born March 6, 1994) is a Danish mixed martial artist who competes in featherweight division of Bellator MMA. Professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Burnell has also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Cag ...

Motor sports

In Denmark, there is also a small but successful group of people doing motorsport. The driver with the most

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

wins so far is Denmark's Tom Kristensen with nine first places. Jan Magnussen has been a Corvette Racing factory driver since 2004, having claimed several GT class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans,

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second round ...

and Petit Le Mans. His son Kevin Magnussen has been competing in Formula One since 2014. Other notable Danish drivers include

Kurt Thiim Kurt Thiim (born 3 August 1956 in Vojens) is a Danish race car driver. After his karting career he raced in single-seaters from 1978 to 1984 before moving to the DTM. He won the championship in his debut year in 1986 driving a Rover Vitesse, and ...

Nicki Thiim Nicki Thiim (born 17 April 1989 in Sønderborg, Denmark) is a Danish professional racing driver, and Aston Martin Racing works driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Biography After competing in karting, Thiim won the 2006 Danish For ...

Jason Watt Jason Watt (born 24 February 1970) is a Danish racing driver. Watt enjoyed a fruitful karting career before moving into Formula Ford in 1992. He graduated to the British Formula Vauxhall Lotus Winter Series in 1993, winning the championship, as ...

, Michael Christensen and

Marco Sørensen Marco L. Sørensen (born 6 September 1990) is a Danish racing driver currently racing for Aston Martin Racing as a factory driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He was part of the Renault Driver Development. He has competed in such seri ...

. The main permanent racetracks are Ring Djursland,

Jyllands-Ringen FDM Jyllands-Ringen is a motor racing circuit in Resenbro, near Silkeborg in Denmark. The circuit was extended from to in 2003, by linking the track to an adjacent oval circuit. Jyllands-Ringen hosted regular rounds of the Danish Touringcar Ch ...

and

Padborg Park Padborg Park is a motor racing circuit in Padborg, Denmark. The circuit opened in 2003 on the site of an airfield. The circuit has regularly hosted rounds of the Danish Touringcar Championship (DTC), TCR Denmark Touring Car Series The TCR Den ...

. The Danish Touringcar Championship was held from 1999 to 2010, and the Danish Thundersport Championship has been held since 2012. In addition, the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix has been held since 2001.

Physical education and gymnastics

Franz Nachtegall was influential in the introduction of physical education and gymnastics into schools of Denmark.

Racketlon

Denmark has the highest ranked

racketlon Racketlon is a combination sport in which competitors play a sequence of the four most popular racket sports: table tennis, badminton, squash, and tennis. It originated in Finland and Sweden and was modeled on other combination sports like the t ...

player and two more within top seven (July 2015).FIR Ranking(7/1/2015)
/ref>

Rugby league football

Rugby league football is played at a local, national and international level. Currently the country is ranked 26th on the

RLIF The International Rugby League (IRL) is the global governing body for the sport of rugby league football. Previously known as the ''Rugby League Imperial Board'', the '' International Rugby League Board'' and latterly the ''Rugby League Internat ...

. Danish domestic teams, including

Jutland RLFC In 2013, Jylland RLFC was the first rugby league club founded in Jutland and the second after the Copenhagen RLFC was founded in Denmark. Rugby league was introduced in Denmark in 2008, which led to the Denmark National Rugby League Team playi ...

(Jylland) and Copenhagen RLFC compete with teams from other areas of Southern Scandinavia.

Rugby union

The Danish Rugby Union dates back to 1950, and joined the IRB in 1988.Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ) p66 There are about 3,000 registered players.

Tennis

Caroline Wozniacki is commonly referred to as the best Danish female tennis player in history. She is a former World No. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 1 March 2017, she held this position for 71 weeks. She was the first Scandinavian woman to hold the top ranking position and 20th overall. She has won The Australian Open 2018 and 27 WTA singles titles incl

2017 WTA Finals The 2017 WTA Finals was a women's tennis tournament held in Kallang, Singapore. It was the 47th edition of the singles event and the 42nd edition of the doubles competition. The tournament was contested by eight singles players and eight doubles ...

(and made 52 finals) as of March 2018, and is currently ranked number 2 in the WTA rankings. Frederik Løchte Nielsen became the first Dane ever to win a Wimbledon championship title in 2012. Nielsen and his partner Marray, who had only played three tournaments together previously, also became the first wild card ever to win the Wimbledon men's doubles. His current position in the ATP doubles rankings is No. 249.

Notes

References

External links

DIF - The National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark
{{Sport in Europe