Henrik Nilsson (born 15 February 1976, in

Nyköping Nyköping () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 32,759 inhabitants as of 2017. The city is also the capital of Södermanland County. Including Arnö, the locality on the ...

) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

sprint canoer Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race canoes or kayaks on calm water. Overview Race categories vary by the number of athletes in the boat, the length of the course, and whether the boat is a canoe or kayak. Canoe sprints are som ...

who competed from the mid-1990s to the 2010s. Competing in four

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

, he won two medals in the K-2 1000 m event with a gold in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

and a silver in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

. Nilsson's first international medal came at the 1997 World Championships in

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, Canada, where he won the K-2 200 m bronze medal with partner Henrik Andersson. His greatest triumphs however came with partner

Markus Oscarsson Markus Oscarsson (born 9 May 1977 in Västerås) is a Swedish sprint kayaker who has competed since 1995. Competing in five Summer Olympics, he won two medals in the K-2 1000 m event with a gold in 2004 and a silver in 2000. Oscars ...

. In

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, they were world championship bronze medalists in K-2 500 m. Nilsson and Oscarsson then dominated the K-2 1000 m event over the next three years, winning two world championship gold medals, in Seville (

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

) and Gainesville, USA (

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), followed by the Olympic gold at

Athens 2004 The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. Nilsson is 190 cm tall (6' 3) and weighs 86 kg (189 lbs).

References

* * * 1976 births Canoeists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Living people Olympic canoeists for Sweden Olympic gold medalists for Sweden Olympic silver medalists for Sweden Swedish male canoeists Olympic medalists in canoeing ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics {{Sweden-Olympic-medalist-stub Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics