Joachim Olsen - Athletic Career

Athletic Career

In his teens Joachim primarily focused on the discus throw, but after switching shot put technique from the glide style to rotational style, he improved dramatically during his four years at University of Idaho, where he was coached by Tim Taylor.

Although he appeared at the World Junior Championships in Sydney 1996, where he threw the Discus, it was at the U23 European Championships in Gothenburg in 1999 he made his first international impact, winning a silver medal. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Joachim B. Olsen did not qualify for the final. Nevertheless he received worldwide attention after he wrote in a chat room that the winner of the final, Arsi Harju had failed a doping test. The rumour was false, and the incident caused the Danish National Olympic Committee to send Joachim B. Olsen home prior to the closing of the Games.

At the 2001 World Championships in Athletics Joachim B. Olsen qualified for his first international final. Since then he has qualified for every final at Olympic, World and European Championships.

In 2002 Olsen won the silver medal at the European Championships outdoor as well as indoor. In 2003 a hand injury held him back, but a revised training plan removed the pain in his wrist. Thus Olsen was ready for a comeback in 2004, and at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships he won a Bronze medal - a placement he repeated at the Olympic Games in Athens.

On 6 November 2005 Olsen injured his right ankle during practise. Several ligaments were either torn or severely damaged. On 6 February 2006 he announced, that the injury had healed sufficiently for him to compete again at highest level. A month later, at the World Indoor Championships, he managed to win a bronze medal with a throw of 21.16 metres.

On 8 August 2008 at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, Olsen was the flagbearer for Denmark. He failed to reach the final.

In 2008 Joachim Olsen became well known in the Danish publicity by his participation in, and winning of, the fifth season of the Danish version of Dancing with the Stars.

On 22 July 2009, he announced his withdrawal from shot putting, saying that while he had a dream of competing at the 2012 Summer Olympics, his physique would not allow it. He suffered a slipped disc in April 2009.