Else Trangbæk (born 7 February 1946, née Thorsager) was a Danish

gymnast Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

. She competed in five events at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

. After her retirement from active gymnastics – with 26 national titles between 1964 and 1970 – she continued her education she became a university professor for sports history and a sports administrator.

Professional career

After finishing middle school in 1962 she was trained as a bank clerk and passed the exam as banker in 1969. From 1972 to 1974 she continued her education in evening classes and passed the university entrance exam. She then started to study for the teaching degree in History and in Physical Education. After her Diploma in Physical Education in 1978, she was hired as non-permanent lecturer in gymnastics by the Kopenhagen Sports Institute. In 1980 her position was converted into a permanent job. Continuing her history studies at Copenhagen University she received her PhD in 1987. APS She was then promoted to ''Docent''. From 1992 to 97 she was Director of the Sport Institute and succeeded in the integration of the separate sport Institute as a Faculty in Copenhagen University. In 1997 her position was converted in a ''Docent'' of the University. From 2002 to 2006 she was section Head in the Faculty. In 2007 she was appointed full professor for Sport History. From 2007 to 2011 she was the Chairperson of the Sport Faculty. In 2011 she went into retirement. She became additionally External Researcher of the ''Centrum för Idrottsforskning'',

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. For her achievements she received the prestigious ''Women and Sport Award'' of the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...

which is only given to one woman per year per continent at the occasion of the ''World Women's Day''.

Research

Else Trangbæk has internationalized the Scandinavian experience and research in the history of women sports. She showed that public physical activities of women such as

ice skating Ice skating is the Human-powered transport, self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. ...

bicycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of bicycle pedal, pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the ...

, etc. played a more significant role in women's lives than serving as sports administrators would have. She started very early in interviewing active sports women of the first generation by means of

Oral History Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...

. The

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

has 425 titles of her as of 26 November 2021.

Honorary positions

* 1984–1996: Chair Danish sports historians * 1987–1992: Member of the research Committee Danish elite sports * 1996–1999: Chair research Committee Danish sports research * 1996–2002: Vice president European committee for sports history * 1997–2003: Chair Sport Committee City of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

* 2002–2009: Member of the board of the Danish National Olympic Committee (DIF) * 2004–2012: Member of the advisory committee of the Danish Ministry of Education * 2008–2010: Member of the Board of

Team Danmark Team Danmark is an organization funded by the Danish government through the proceeds from Danske Spil, the state-controlled organization for betting on sports in Denmark, with the purpose of promoting elite sports in Denmark. References Exter ...

(= Danish elite sports organization) * Since 2008: Chair Danish Hall of Fame of Sports * Since 2010: Vice President ''Team Danmark''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trangbaek, Else 1946 births Living people Academic staff of the University of Copenhagen Danish female artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts for Denmark Oral historians Sports historians University of Copenhagen alumni Sportspeople from Viborg Municipality