The Danish Swimming Federation has announced a 16 swimmer team that will travel to the 2016 Short Course World Championships in Windsor, Canada next month.
The team, made up of a very egalitarian 8 men, 8 women, and 4 coaches, will be without Denmark’s lone individual Olympic medalist, Pernille Blume, who won a surprise gold in the 50 free in Rio.
“I have chosen not to swim the Short Course World Championships in December,” Blume said in a statement. “After the Olympics I have a very busy period with taking care of sponsors and the press, networking, visits to clubs and much more. I have chosen to listen to my body and it says that I’m not ready yet for a new major event.
“It has not been an easy decision, but in consultation with my coaches and family, we have agreed that it is best that I stay home this time around.”
Blume has become a superstar in her country thanks to her sprint victory, and has been making rounds doing various appearances, photo shoots, and interviews.
Denmark still sends a strong team to Canada that includes 5 of their 8 male Olympians and the other 3 legs of the country’s bronze medal winning 400 medley relay (that Blume anchored). The same quartet that was on the podium in Rio did so 2 years earlier at the 2014 Short Course World Championships in both the 200 and 400 medley relays. This year, Mie Nielsen, Rikke Pedersen, and Jeanette Ottesen will likely be joined by 16-year old Julie Kepp Jensen on that medley. Jensen has been the country’s 2nd-ranked 100 freestyler in short course meters each of the last two years, where Blume has performed better in the long course pool, generally.
Denmark won 6 medals at the 2014 World Short Course Championships and all 6 of them came from the women’s team – including minor medals in the 50 and 100 fly from Jeanette Ottesen, who returns this year.
The men’s team, though, will have a few shots at hardware of their own in 2016. Middle distance swimmer Anton Ipsen has been swimming very well in short course yards in the United States, and Viktor Bromer ranked 6th in the world last year in the 200 SCM butterfly.
The meet runs from December 6th-11th.
The Full Danish Roster is Below
Men
- Viktor Bromer
- Soeren Dahl
- Anton Oerskov Ipsen
- Magnus Jakupsson
- Frans Johannessen
- Marcus Krøyer
- Anders Lie
- Daniel Skaaning.
Women
- Emilie Beckmann
- Sarah Bro
- Signe Bro
- Maj Howardsen
- Julie Kepp Jensen
- Mie Oestergaard Nielsen
- Jeanette Ottesen
- Rikke Moeller Pedersen.
Coaches
- Dean Boles
- Claus Buus
- Eyleifur Jóhannesson
- Nick Juba.
