Aage Birch
Aage Birch 
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| Nationality: |
 Denmark
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| Birthday: | September 23, 1926 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth: | Søllerød, Rudersdal , Hovedstaden | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death: | February 13, 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death: | Søllerød | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Size: | 1.72 cm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 70 kg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Society: | Hellerup Sejlklub (HS) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boat classes: | Dragons | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Aage Birch (born September 23, 1926 in Søllerød , Denmark ; † February 13, 2017 there ) was a successful Danish sailor and boat builder who represented his country three times in the kite class at the Olympic Games .
Aage Birch grew up at Furesee (Danish: Furesøen) and was a member of the Furesøen yacht club as a child. Here he got to know the Kiel boat class kite in 1940 and remained loyal to it throughout his sailing life. The kite was an Olympic boat class from 1948 to 1972.
Participation in the Olympic Games
- 1952 Aage Birch took part in the Olympic Games in Helsinki for the first time together with his compatriot William Berntsen . Ole Berntsen was the skipper and helmsman . Together they reached fifth place overall .
- In 1960 he started as a skipper and helmsman at the Olympic Games in Rome in the dragon boat class (venue: Naples ). Aage Birch achieved sixth place together with his forecut crews Paul Lindemark Jørgensen and Niels Markussen .
- In 1968 Birch took part for the third time in the Olympic Games in sailing in the kite class off Acapulco . As a skipper, he won the silver medal together with his crew Paul Lindemark Jørgensen and Niels Markussen .
Dragons Gold Cup
Aage Birch dominated the prestigious Drachen Gold Cup from 1963 to 1972. During this period he set the so far unbeaten record of seven Gold Cup victories.
Activities after sports career
After the end of his active sailing career, Aage Birch was still involved in the sport. He realized that the sailors needed better financial support. Together with Paul Lindemark, he founded an initiative that promoted regatta sailors by withholding five kroner from each regatta entry fee and investing in the promotion of elite sailors. The money was well spent, because Denmark won the gold medal in Soling in 1976 and 1980 by Poul Høj Jensen and the silver medal in 1980 in the Tornado by Peter Due .
As coach, he also took over the management of the Danish national sailing team for the Olympic sailing competitions in 1980 and 1984. In particular, he had an unusual talent for analyzing the attitudes and trims of opponents and generating an advantage for his team.
He retained these analytical skills for life. Therefore, at the age of 90, the Dansk Sejlunion sent him to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro with the task of learning the tricks of the sovereign New Zealand gold medalists in 49ers Peter Burling and Blair Tuke for the Danish team.
In his civilian life, Aage Birch was a boat builder with sailing as the focal point. He was a lifelong friend of Paul Elvstrøm , who were both members of the Hellerup Sejlklub in Gentofte , a suburb of Copenhagen .
Birch lived in England and Switzerland for many years , but then returned to Denmark and lived in Nordsjælland for the last years of his life .
Web links
- Aage Birch in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Flemming Ø. Pedersen: Dødsfald - Drage legend og OL-sølvvinder Aage Birch. sejlsport.dk, February 17, 2017, accessed on March 17, 2020 (Danish).
- ↑ Aage Birch. Sports-reference.com, accessed March 17, 2020 .
- ↑ Danske OL-delt transient (German: Danish Olympic participants). sejlsport.dk, accessed on March 17, 2020 (Danish).
- ↑ Flemming Ø. Pedersen: Dødsfald - Drage legend og OL-sølvvinder Aage Birch. sejlsport.dk, February 17, 2017, accessed on March 17, 2020 (Danish).
- ↑ Flemming Ø. Pedersen: Dødsfald - Drage legend og OL-sølvvinder Aage Birch. sejlsport.dk, February 17, 2017, accessed on March 17, 2020 (Danish).
| personal data | |
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| SURNAME | Birch, Aage |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Danish sailor and boat builder |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 23, 1926 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Søllerød , Denmark |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 13, 2017 |
| Place of death | Søllerød , Denmark |