Københavns Idræts Forening (abbreviated Københavns IF, KIF) is a
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 a ...
athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
club based in the
Østerbro
Østerbro () (literally, "Eastern Bridge") is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located just north of the city centre, outside the old city gate Østerport which, after it was moved around 1700, used to be located clo ...
district of
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
.
The club is based at the
Østerbro Stadium and the indoor
Club Danmark Hallen in
Valby
Valby () is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is in the southwestern corner of Copenhagen Municipality, and has a mixture of different types of housing. This includes apartment blocks, terraced housing, areas with single ...
. The club was founded in 1892 as ''Københavns Fodsports-Forening''—the club adopted its current name in 1914—and is Denmark's oldest athletics club.
37 members of Københavns Idræts Forening have competed at the
Olympic Games
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 ...
.
Niels Holst-Sørensen
Niels Holst-Sørensen (born 19 December 1922) is a Danish former athlete and air force officer and centenarian. He served as the commander-in-chief of the Royal Danish Air Force in 1970–1982 and Denmark's military representative to NATO in 198 ...
, one of the club's athletes, won a gold medal in the
400 metres
The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...
at the
1946 European Athletics Championships
The 3rd European Athletics Championships were held from 22 August to 25 August 1946 in the Bislett Stadion in Oslo, Norway. For the first time it was a combined event for men and women, and for the first time a city in Scandinavia hosted the champ ...
in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
.
Gunnar Nielsen another of the club's athletes was 1955
world record holder at 1500 metres with 3.40.8.
By the time of its centenary in 1992, the club's members had won a total of 575 gold medals at the Danish championships—the club is second only to
Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
in the number of Danish champions that it has produced.
Famous athletes
*
Christian Christensen
*
Nick Ekelund-Arenander
Nick Michael Ekelund-Arenander (born 23 January 1989 in Södermalm, Sweden) is a Danish/Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic l ...
*
Vilhelm Gylche
Vilhelm Emanuel Jakob Gylche (6 January 1888 – 18 December 1952) was a Danish track and field athlete who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. He is the brother of Karl Paul Kristian Gylche.
He was born in Copenhagen
Copenhagen ...
*
Mogens Guldberg
Mogens Daniel Guldberg (born 2 August 1963 in Kalundborg) is a former middle distance runner from Denmark, who represented his native country at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. There he was eliminated in the semifinals of the 1500 ...
*
Niels Holst-Sørensen
Niels Holst-Sørensen (born 19 December 1922) is a Danish former athlete and air force officer and centenarian. He served as the commander-in-chief of the Royal Danish Air Force in 1970–1982 and Denmark's military representative to NATO in 198 ...
*
Kai Jensen
Kai Sofus Marinus Jensen (25 February 1897 – 31 May 1997) was a Danish athlete who competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics where, representing Københavns Idræts Forening, he was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the men's 400 metres, the s ...
*
Valther Jensen
*
Henrik Jørgensen
*
Wilson Kipketer
Wilson Kosgei Kipketer (born 12 December 1972) is a Danish former middle distance runner. He is the second fastest of all time over 800 meters, setting the world record and breaking his own record two more times all in 1997. He dominated the 8 ...
*
Gunnar Nielsen
*
Henry Petersen
*
Aage Rasmussen
Aage Rasmussen (later Remfeldt; 4 September 1889 – 29 November 1983) was a Danish photographer and track and field athlete who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. He was born in Frederiksberg and died in Havdrup
Havdrup is a small railw ...
*
Eugen Schmidt
Eugen Stahl Schmidt (17 February 1862 in Copenhagen, Denmark - 7 October 1931 in Aalborg, Denmark) was a Danish shooter, athlete, and tug of war competitor. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens and at the 1900 Summer Olymp ...
*
Ernst Schultz
Ernst Ludvig Emanuel Schultz (15 May 1879 – 20 June 1906) was a Danish sprinter who won a bronze medal in the 400 m event at the 1900 Summer Olympics.
In the 1898-99 athletics season, Schultz had set Danish records in the 200 metres and quar ...
*
August Sørensen
*
Marinus Sørensen
External links
Official site
Athletics clubs in Denmark
Sports teams in Copenhagen
Sports clubs established in 1892
1892 establishments in Denmark
{{Denmark-sport-stub