Henry Petersen (athlete)

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Henry Petersen 1920

Henry Petersen (born October 1, 1900 in Ring ( Horsens ), † September 24, 1949 in Copenhagen ) was a Danish athlete who ran athletics and gymnastics . His specialty was the pole vault . He started for Københavns Idræts Forening .

National services

Petersen won a total of nine state championships as a track and field athlete:

year 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1925 1926 1927
Pole high (m) Third (3.40) Runner-up (3.70) MASTER (3.70) MASTER (3.81) Runner-up (3.60) MASTER (3.85) MASTER (4.00) MASTER (3.80) MASTER (3.80)
4 × 100 m MASTER MASTER Runner-up MASTER Runner-up Runner-up Third Third

There were also five gymnastics championships from 1921 to 1927.

International services

Petersen took part in two Olympic Games: 1920 in Antwerp and 1924 in Paris . In Antwerp, the Olympic champion was Frank Foss , who set a new world record with 4.09 m and jumped 39 (!) Centimeters higher than Henry Petersen, who won the silver medal with 3.70 m and prevented an American triple triumph. The third-placed, Edwin Myers , had jumped 3.75 m in the jump-off against Edward Knourek , but had to pass at 3.60 m in the regular competition, so that only the bronze medal remained for him.

Four years later in Paris, however, Petersen was unlucky. Although he jumped 20 centimeters higher than in Antwerp, 3.90 m was only enough for fourth place behind the American James Brooker , who also came over 3.90 m. Lee Barnes and Glenn Graham with each 3.95 m completed the triple success for the USA.

Records and best performances

Petersen improved the Danish pole vault record eight times from 3.69 m (1919) to 4.03 m (1925); this achievement was unsurpassed for nine years. In addition, he had five placements among the top ten in the world rankings:

  • 1918: 8th place with 3.69 m (June 30)
  • 1919: 5th place with 3.80 m (June 15)
  • 1922: 8th place with 3.85 m (August 6)
  • 1923: 9th place with 3.90 m (July 8th)
  • 1925: 3rd place with 4.03 m (July 26th)

He achieved all of these achievements in Copenhagen. There he managed to jump over 3.90 m in 1927, which only meant 23rd place.

The following personal bests are given for him:

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Petersen, Henry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish athlete
DATE OF BIRTH October 1, 1900
PLACE OF BIRTH Ring , Horsens
DATE OF DEATH September 24, 1949
Place of death Copenhagen