Eskild Balschmidt Ebbesen (born 27 May 1972, in

Silkeborg Silkeborg () is a Danish town with a population of 49,747 (1 January 2022).Midtjylland The Central Denmark Region ( da, Region Midtjylland), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish muni ...

) is a Danish lightweight rower, who as part of the

Gold Four The Gold Four (Danish: ''Guldfireren'') is the nickname for a Danish men's lightweight coxless four crew who between 1994 and 2016 has won three Olympic gold, one silver and two bronze, and eight gold and three silver medal ...

has won a total number of five Olympic medals (three gold) and six World Championship gold medals. Ebbesen was the flag bearer of the Danish team at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Greece. Ebbesen and his crew took an alternative approach to racing and is quoted saying:

Our strategy, for every race, was always to be first, to be number one from the beginning of the race. A fast start was important. It became natural for us to do a high stroke rate. It then escalated. I don't think we have many strokes under 40.

Ebbesen retired from competitive rowing at the age of 40 after the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. In the following year, he won the

Thomas Keller Medal The Thomas Keller Medal is given by the World Rowing Federation (FISA) for an outstanding international career in the sport of rowing. It is the highest honor in rowing and is awarded to any athlete within five years of his/her retirement from the ...

, the highest honour in rowing.

References

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* 1972 births Living people Danish male rowers Olympic rowers of Denmark Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Denmark Olympic bronze medalists for Denmark People from Silkeborg Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for Denmark Thomas Keller Medal recipients Sportspeople from the Central Denmark Region {{Denmark-rowing-bio-stub