Viggo Jensen

Who was Viggo Jensen?

Alexander Viggo Jensen was a Danish weightlifter, shooter, gymnast, and athlete. He was the first Danish Olympic champion, at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.

The first weightlifting event held was the two-handed lift, in a style now known as the clean and jerk. Jensen and Launceston Elliot of Great Britain and Ireland finished the competition tied at 111.5 kilograms, though the judges declared Jensen had performed the lift with better form and would be awarded first place. The British delegation protested, resulting in more attempts being given both lifters to improve their scores. Neither did and therefore Jensen retained first place, but he had injured his shoulder in the extra attempts.

That injury hampered Jensen's efforts in the one-handed lift, the snatch. He was able to lift only 57.0 kilograms to Elliot's 71.0 kilograms, taking second place in the event. Jensen competed in the shot put, placing fourth. He was not among the top four in the discus throw, placing sixth.

In the gymnastics competitions, Jensen entered the rope climbing event. He did not finish the climb, placing fourth behind the two Greeks who did reach the top of the 14 metre rope and Fritz Hofmann, who had gotten higher than Jensen. He was ahead of Launceston Elliot in the event.