Daniel Wagner Jørgensen (born 3 June 1993), who also competes as Daniel Wagner or Daniel Jørgensen, is a leg amputee

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

Paralympic sportsman who has competed in both track and field athletics and

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

. As an athlete he specialises in the long jump, but also competes in sprint events.

Personal career

Jørgensen was born in Vejle, Denmark in 1993. As a youth he was a keen sportsman and took up both snowboarding and gymnastics. In 2008, whilst attempting a double front flip on a trampoline at a gymnastic show he landed badly and dislocated his knee. In the resulting surgery, doctors were sadly forced to amputate his leg.

Athletics career

As sprinting was part of his old gymnastics training, Jørgensen found he had a talent for running as a disability athlete, taking up disability athletics in 2010. Classified as a T42 athlete, Jørgensen first represented Denmark at an international level when he was chosen for the national team at the

2011 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships was held in Christchurch, New Zealand from January 21 to 30, 2011. Athletes with a disability competed, and the Championships was a qualifying event for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Ove1000 athlet ...

in Christchurch, New Zealand. In Christchurch he took part in the 100m and 200m sprints but failed to make a podium finish in either events. The following year he was part of the Denmark team that travelled to London to take part in the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

. There he entered three events, the 100m and 200m sprint, and the long jump, in which he finished third, to claim his first international medal. In 2013 Jørgensen attended his second World Championship, held in Lyon, where as well as the sprints, he entered the long jump, finishing just outside the medals in fourth place. The following year he attended the

2014 IPC Athletics European Championships The 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships was a track and field competition for athletes with a disability open to International Paralympic Committee (IPC) affiliated countries within Europe, plus Azerbaijan and Israel. It was held in Swanse ...

in Swansea where he took three medals, a bronze in the 200m and two silvers in the 100m and long jump. Jørgensen showed continual improvement in the buildup to the

Rio Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, fro ...

, by winning medals in all three of his events at the 2015 World Championships in Doha. The following year, Jørgensen took gold in the long jump at the 2016 European Championships with a distance of 6.70 metres. This led to a season of tournaments which saw Jørgensen and German rival Heinrich Popow exchange the World record distance on several occasions.

Snowboarding career

Jørgensen began snowboarding while a child and continued to enjoy the sport after his accident. Classified as an SB-LL boarder, he represented Denmark at the 2015 Snowboarding World Championships in La Molina. He entered two events, the snowboard cross and the banked slalom, winning a bronze medal in the latter. Wagner participates as the only Dane at the snowboarding events at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in

Pyeongchang Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seou ...

, South Korea. He was also the

flagbearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

for Denmark at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in the opening ceremony.

References

External links

*
Daniel Wagner
at

World Para Snowboard The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; german: Internationales Paralympisches Komitee) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and func ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jorgensen, Daniel 1993 births Living people Danish male sprinters Danish male long jumpers Danish male snowboarders Paralympic athletes of Denmark Paralympic snowboarders of Denmark Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Paralympic silver medalists for Denmark Paralympic bronze medalists for Denmark Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Snowboarders at the 2018 Winter Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics People from Vejle Municipality Medalists at the World Para Athletics Championships Medalists at the World Para Athletics European Championships Sportspeople from the Region of Southern Denmark Sprinters with limb difference Long jumpers with limb difference Paralympic sprinters Paralympic long jumpers