Niels Holst-Sorensen (106) at the London 1948 Olympic Games (© AFP / Getty Images)
World Athletics is deeply saddened to hear that Niels Holst-Sorensen, the 1946 European 400m champion, died on Tuesday (24) at the age of 100.
Denmark’s first European athletics gold medallist, Holst-Sorensen remains the only man to have claimed a medal in both the 400m and 800m at the same European Championships, having also secured silver in the 800m in 1946.
At that event in Oslo, Holst-Sorensen clocked 47.9 to win the 400m and went on to run 1:51.1 in the 800m final, finishing just 0.1 behind champion Rune Gustafsson of Sweden.
Holst-Sorensen's best years coincided with the Second World War – in 1943 and 1944 – when he ran 47.6 for 400m and 1:48.9 for 800m. The latter was recorded in a friendly match between Sweden and Denmark in Stockholm in August of 1943 and at the time it ranked him third on the world all-time list. His 400m mark remained the national record until 1971.
Despite concentrating on his career as a pilot in the Royal Danish Air Force, Holst-Sorensen still managed to reach the 800m final at the Olympic Games in London in 1948 before ending his sporting career at the age of 25.
He steadily advanced in the military ranks and in 1970 was appointed to Major-General and Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Danish Air Force. He later became President of the Danish Olympic Committee and was a member of the IOC until 2002. He then became an honorary member.
He celebrated his 100th birthday on 19 December 2022 at his home in Hillerod, north of Copenhagen.
World Athletics
With thanks to Jeppe Weinreich