Poul Richard Høj Jensen "PRHJ" (born 2 June 1944) is a Danish

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

, boatbuilder,

sailmaker A sailmaker makes and repairs sails for sailboats, kites, hang gliders, wind art, architectural sails, or other structures using sails. A sailmaker typically works on shore in a sail loft; the sail loft has other sailmakers. Large ocean-going sa ...

and Olympic champion. Høj Jensen lives with his wife Sophia alternating in

Burnham-on-Crouch Burnham-on-Crouch is a town and civil parish in the Maldon District of Essex, in the East of England; it lies on the north bank of the River Crouch. It is one of Britain's leading places for yachting. The civil parish extends east of the town ...

and Freetown, Antigua and Barbuda.

Personal life

Married with two children, two step children; seven grand children to date. Trained in mechanical engineering.

Professional career

After completing National Service in the Danish Navy, Høj Jensen worked for Paul Elvstrøm and

Hans Fogh Hans Marius Fogh (8 March 1938 – 14 March 2014) was one of the most successful competitive sailors in history, with dozens of national and international championships and in many different classes, including two Olympic medals. Olympic caree ...

in the sail, mast and boatbuilding business. Left the company 15 years later to set up sail making business with Hans Fogh and subsequently started his own Company "Høj Jensen Design" which became the North Sails Scandinavia franchise. In 1989 the sailmaking business merged with Petticrows in Burnham-on-Crouch, UK, and he concentrated on building One Design Boats; Dragons mainly. As Høj Jensen was involved in the nautical business, he was for many years formally (rules of

International Olympic Committee 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 i ...

World Sailing World Sailing is the international sports governing body for sailing (sport), sailing; it is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). History The creation of the International Yac ...

) considered a professional sailor. However he was he never paid to sail, he also worked during his four Olympic Campaigns with little or no sponsorship. Høj Jensen considers himself to be a gifted amateur.

Olympics

Høj Jensen participated in four consecutive Olympics from 1968. Together with Erik Hansen and Valdemar Bandolowski he won a gold medal in the

Soling The Soling is an Keelboat, open keelboat that holds the World Sailing "International class" status. The class was used from the Sailing at the 1972 Summer Olympics, 1972 Olympics until the Sailing at the 2000 Summer Olympics, 2000 Olympics as "Sa ...

class at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, and again at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

in Moscow.

Palmarès

The Palmarès of Høj Jensen is extensive. Therefore, the following criteria are used (with the exception of the Olympics where all results are listed): * International championships with 45 boats or more * National (country) championships as sanctioned by National Authorities. * World, European Championships and Gold Cups as sanctioned by World Sailing. * Only first places are noted, except for World, European and Championships where some 2nd and 3rd places are included. Honours
:Knighted by the Queen of Denmark in 2001. :German Dragon Class, Gold Dragon presented by Queen Silvia of Sweden 15 July 2009. :KDY 1976 Sportsman of the year Scandinavia :RYS Yachtsman of the year 2009. :Honorable Member Danish Dragon Club. Olympic Games
: 7th, 1968 Olympics,

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

, – FD (Where he replaced

in race 7). With Niels Jensen. : 7th, 1972 Olympics,

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

–

Schilksee Schilksee () is a town on the Danish Wahld peninsula in the Kieler Förde. In 1959, the town was incorporated into the city of Kiel, therefore today sometimes named as Kiel-Schilksee (). The town is a popular vacation destination because of its b ...

, –

Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

. With Frank Høj Jensen and Gunner Dahlgaard. : Gold, 1976 Olympics,

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, –

. With Erik Hansen and Valdemar Bandolowski. : Gold, 1980 Olympics, Tallinn, –

. With Erik Hansen and Valdemar Bandolowski. World Championships *Half Ton **1st, 1972 . With Paul Elvstrøm (helm), Strit Johanssen, Valdemar Bandolowski, Jan Kjærulff *Quarter Ton **1st, 1987. With Bent Folke Larsen, Steen Larsen and Erik Lund **1st, 1988. With Bent Folke Larsen, Steen Larsen and Theis Palm **2nd, 1986. With Bent Folke Larsen, Steen Larsen and Theis Palm **Etchells **1st, 1997 . With Paul Blowers and Steve Mitchell **3rd, 2001 . With Paul Blowers and Steve Mitchell *Dragon **1st, 1989 . With Erik Hansen, Jan Persson **1st, 2009 , Medemblik. With Theis Palm, Lars Jensen **2nd, 1993 . With Theis Palm, Lars Jensen **2nd, 1995 ,

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. With Claus Høj Jensen, Richie Goldsmith **2nd, 1997 ,

Marstrand Marstrand () is a seaside locality situated in Kungälv Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 1,320 inhabitants in 2010. The town got its name from its location on the island of Marstrand. Despite its small population, for histo ...

**3rd, 1985 ,

Douarnenez Douarnenez (, ; meaning ''douar'' (land) ''an enez'' (the island) or land of the island), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, region of Brittany, northwestern France. It is located at the mouth of the Pouldavid River, an estua ...

*H-Boat **1st, 1980 . With Henrik Reese and Theis Palm **1st, 1983 . With Henrik Reese and Henrik Montin Sorenson **2nd, 1981. With Henrik Reese and Theis Palm *Soling **2nd, 1973 **2nd, 1979 Master World Championships *Etchells **1st, 2001 ,

Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest (district), New Forest district of Hampshire, England. The town faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a Roll-on/roll-off, car ferry s ...

. With Paul Blowers and Steve Mitchell Corinthian World Championships *Dragon **1st, 2013 , Weymouth. With Hamish McKay and Andrew Norden European Championships *6 Metre **2nd Classic Division, 2016 ,

Brunnen Brunnen is a resort on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, part of the municipality Ingenbohl (Canton of Schwyz), at . Brunnen railway station, on the Gotthard railway, is served by hourly InterRegio trains, and by lines S2 of the Stadtbahn Zug, wh ...

. With

Colin Murray Colin Murray (born Colin Wright on 10 March 1977) is a Northern Irish radio and television presenter. He has hosted the Channel 4 game show '' Countdown'' since 2022. Born and raised in Dundonald, east of Belfast, Murray first trained and wor ...

, Alexea Barrier, Hamish McKay and Jana Zimmerhalk *Etchells **1st, 1997 ,

Lake Garda Lake Garda (, , or , ; ; ) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, between Brescia and Milan to the west, and Verona and Venice to the east. The lake cuts into the edge of the Eastern Alps, Italian Alp ...

. With Paul Blowers and Steve Mitchell **1st, 1999 ,

. With Paul Blowers and Steve Mitchell *Dragon **1st, 1969 ,

Lake Thun Lake Thun () is an Alpine lake in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland named after the city of Thun, on its northern shore. At in surface area, it is the largest Swiss lake entirely within a single canton. The lake was created after the last gl ...

. With Axel Holm (helm) **1st, 1988 ,

Skovshoved Skovshoved is a former fishing village on the Øresund coast north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The area is part of Charlottenlund postal district and Gentofte Municipality. Local landmarks include Skovshoved Church, Skovshoved Hotel and the listed Ar ...

. With Erik Hansen and Finn Jorgenson **1st, 1992 , Hanko. With Ebbe Elmer and Carsten Errebo **1st, 1996 ,

Pwllheli Pwllheli ( ; ) is a market town and community on the Llŷn Peninsula (), in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It had a population of 4,076 in 2011, which declined slightly to 3,947 in 2021; a large proportion (81%) were Welsh language, Welsh speaking. ...

. With Morton Nielson and Chris Brittain **1st, 2000 , Laredo. With Claus Høj Jensen and Morteon Harmson **2nd, 1994 ,

Cazaux Cazaux () is a commune of the Ariège department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Ariège department The following is a list of the 325 communes of the Ariège department of France France, officia ...

. With Claus Høj Jensen and Hamish McKay **2nd, 2005 , La Trinité-sur-Mer. With Phillipe Skate Holm and Chris Brittain **3rd, 1987 ,

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. With Prince Henrik (helm) and Jacob Johanssen *H-Boat **1st, 1978. With Henrik Reese and Flemming Ipsen **1st, 1979 *Soling **1st, 1982 ,

Dragør Dragør () is the main town of Dragør Municipality, (Denmark), which includes the village of Store Magleby. The city hall and seat of the municipal council lies on Kirkevej 7 (postal code 2791 Dragør) in Store Magleby, which has enough space ...

. With

(helm) and John Kerr Gold Cups *Dragon **1st, 1990 ,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. With Erik Hansen **1st, 1992 ,

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

**1st, 1994 ,

Rungsted Rungsted, also known as ''Rungsted Kyst'', is an affluent suburban neighborhood in Hørsholm Municipality on the Øresund coast north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The center of Hørsholm is located two kilometers west of Rungsted. At the Øresund coast ...

**1st, 1997 ,

. With Hamish McKay and Chris Britten **1st, 2008 ,

Cascais Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera, Estoril Coast. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourism in Port ...

. With Theis Palm and Andrew Norden Corinthian Dragon Gold Cups *1st, 2014 , Medemblik. With Hamish McKay and Andrew Norden Asia Pacific Championships Etchells * 1st, 1995

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. With Claus Høj Jensen and Nick Geaves One Ton Cup *1st, 1990 ,

. With Henrik Søderlund (skipper) Nordic Championships *IF-Boat (previously International Folkboat) **1st, 1975 *Soling **1st, 1981. With Theis Palm and Lille Keld Christensen *H-Boat **1st, 1977. With Henrik Reese and Flemming Ipsen **1st, 1978 **1st, 1982 *Dragon **1st, 1972 **1st, 1991 ,

Ålesund Ålesund () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of Ålesund Municipality. The centre of the town of Ålesund lies on the islands of Hessa, Aspøya, Ålesund, Asp� ...

. With Steen Larson and Jan Eld *Star **2nd, 1982 *Finn **2nd, 1968 National Championships *Antigua and Barbuda **2008, 2009, Dragon *Danish **1972, Trapeze **1976, Spackhugger **1973, 1979, 1980, 1982, Soling **1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1985, H-Boat **1963, 1966, 1968, OK dinghy **1987, 1988, 1991, Dragon *Egypt **1998, Dragon *Finland **1980, H-Boat *France **1991, 1995, 1997, Dragon *German **1984, H-Boat **1992, 1994, 1995, Dragon *Great Britain **1998, 1995, Etchells **1993, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2006, Dragon *Italy ** 1999, Etchells *Ireland **1970, 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2012, Dragon *Japan ** 1986, Half Ton ** 1992, Dragon Prince Henrik (helm) *The Netherlands **1997, 2001, 2011, Dragon *Russia **1994, 2000, Dragon *Sweden **1992, Dragon Other major regattas per class *115' Bruce Farr ketch **2011, Nelson Trophy *Dragon **1969, 2003, 2008, 2012, Princess Sophia, Spain, Mallorca **1972, 1999,

Kiel Week The Kiel Week () or Kiel Regatta is an annual sailing event in Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is considered to be one of the largest sailing events globally, and also the largest summer festivals in Northern Europe, ...

, Germany **1991, 1992, 2001, 2003,Regatte Royale, France, Cannes **1995, 1996, 1997, Grand Prix Samsonite, Spain, Blanes **1995, 1998, 2005, 2006, 2007, Henrique Navigator, Portugal, Vilamoura/Lisboa **1999, Cowes Week, UK **2000, 2011, 2012, La Baule Derby, France **2001, Baltic Regatta **2001, 2002, Copa Mediterania Mallorca, Spain **2002, 2004, Grand Prix Douarnenez, France **2002, Drags Cup Cazaux **2005, 2006, King Juan Carlos Cup **2006, Iberian Championship *H-Boat **1978, 1979, Kieler Woche, Germany *Soling **1976, Ski Yachting, France, Cannes **1980, Kieler Woche, Germany Other Races Special for Høj Jensen *Sjaelland Rundt **1963, Overall winner in Paul Elvstrøm's "Bess" **1965, 1st. With his father C. J. Høj Jensen, his brother Frank Høj Jensen and Ussing Andersen

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Poul Richard Hoj 1944 births Living people Danish male sailors (sport) Olympic sailors for Denmark Olympic gold medalists for Denmark Olympic silver medalists for Denmark Olympic medalists in sailing Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Sailors at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Dragon Sailors at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman Sailors at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Dragon Sailors at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Soling Sailors at the 1980 Summer Olympics – Soling H-boat class sailors Sailors (sport) from Copenhagen Soling class sailors Royal Danish Yacht Club sailors 20th-century Danish sportsmen