Niels Hansen Ditlev Larsen (21 November 1889 – 15 November 1969) was 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 ...

sport shooter Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such as ...

and rifle manufacturer. He competed in various rifle and pistol events in the 1912, 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics and won one gold, one silver and three bronze medals, becoming the most successful Danish Olympic shooter.

Biography

Larsen took up shooting early, and was training in a city club by the age of 14. His talent was noticed by Hans Schultz, an Olympic shooter who owned a guns workshop in

Otterup Otterup is a town in central Denmark, located in Nordfyn municipality on the island of Funen with a population of 5,269 (1 January 2022). Between 1889 and 1994 the Schultz & Larsen rifle factory was working from this small town. Notable peop ...

. Schultz hired Larsen in 1910; in 1912 they competed together in the Stockholm Olympics, in 1917 became business partners, and in 1919 expanded the Schultz's workshop into the

Schultz & Larsen Schultz & Larsen is a Danish rifle and silencer manufacturing company that was founded in 1919 in Otterup. In 1994 it was acquired by Jørgen Nielsen, and the production plants split between Otterup and Rask Mølle near Horsens. Currently the com ...

factory. Earlier in 1916 Larsen married Schultz's daughter Ellen. Their son

Uffe Schultz Larsen Uffe Schultz Larsen (2 June 1921 – 29 November 2005) was a Danish sport shooter who won a silver medal in the 50 m rifle prone position at the 1952 World Championships. He competed in various events at the 1948, 1952, 1956 and 1960 Summer Olym ...

also became an Olympic shooter and worked for Schultz & Larsen.

Olympic results

;1912 Stockholm In 1912 Larsen won the bronze medal in the 300 metre free rifle, three positions event and also with the Danish team in the team free rifle competition. He also participated in the following events: * Team military rifle – eighth place * 50 metre pistol – 41st place * 300 metre military rifle, three positions – 63rd place ;1920 Antwerp Eight years later Larsen won the gold medal as member of the Danish team in the team 300 metre military rifle, standing event and the silver medal in the 300 metre free rifle, three positions competition. He also participated in the following events: * 50 metre free pistol – fifth place *

Team free rifle A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to infor ...

– fifth place * Team 50 metre free pistol – eighth place * Team 300 metre military rifle, prone – 13th place * 300 metre military rifle, standing – place unknown * 300 metre military rifle, prone – result unknown * 600 metre military rifle, prone – result unknown ;1924 Paris In 1924 Larsen won the bronze medal in the 600 metre free rifle competition and finished sixth with the Danish team in the team free rifle event.

References

External links

* * 1889 births 1969 deaths Danish male sport shooters ISSF rifle shooters ISSF pistol shooters Olympic shooters for Denmark Shooters at the 1912 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 1920 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 1924 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Denmark Olympic silver medalists for Denmark Olympic bronze medalists for Denmark Olympic medalists in shooting Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Horsens {{Denmark-sportshooting-bio-stub