Jesper Roesen (born 2 May 1975 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

) is a retired Danish

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

practitioner, who competed in the men's featherweight category. Considering one of Europe's top taekwondo players in his own division, Roesen held three European titles (1996, 1998, and 2005), obtained two silver medals at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

(1999 and 2001), and represented his nation

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. He now trains students at a school in Denmark. Throughout his sporting career, Roesen trained full-time for Hwarang Taekwondo Klub in

Rødovre Rødovre () is a town in eastern Denmark, seat of the Rødovre Municipality, in the Capital Region of Denmark, Region Hovedstaden. The town's population 1 January 2019 was 39,907, and in addition 145 persons had no fixed address, which made up a ...

, under his personal coach and master Bjarne Johansen. Roesen began his taekwondo training with Master Kytu’s Hwarang Taekwondo Klub at fourteen years old. In 1996, Roesen's sporting career thrived with his first ever European title in

Helsinki, Finland Helsinki () is the capital and most populous city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipality, with million in the capital region and ...

, and then continued to add one more in

Eindhoven, Netherlands Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also located in the Dutch part of the natural region the Campine. With a population ...

two years later. Roesen also permitted a chance to represent his nation

at the

World Taekwondo Championships The World Taekwondo Championship is held every two years by World Taekwondo. In addition to the kyorugi (full contact fighting) Championships, there are also Para World Championships as well as Poomsae and Para Poomsae Championships held every ...

, where he placed second behind South Korea's No Hyun-goo in 1999 and U.S. fighter

Steven López Steven López (born November 9, 1978) is an American taekwondo competitor, a 2000 and 2004 Olympic gold medalist (in the -68 and -80 kg divisions, respectively) and a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist (again in the -80 kg division) and 4 ...

in 2001. At the

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Roesen qualified for the Danish squad in the men's featherweight class (68 kg), by registering his entry and placing third from the European Olympic Qualifying Tournament in

Baku, Azerbaijan Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

. Roesen got off to a flying start with a seamless 11–10 victory over Argentina's two-time Olympian

Alejandro Hernando Alejandro Fabián Hernando (born May 5, 1976) is an Argentine taekwondo practitioner, who competed in the men's featherweight category. He captured a bronze medal in the 68-kg division at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, ...

, before ending his Olympic debut by hopelessly losing the quarterfinal match 11–13 to South Korea's Song Myeong-seob. In 2005, Roesen brought home his third gold medal in the final against Dutch fighter

Tommy Mollet Tommy Mollet (born 29 March 1979 in Tilburg) is a Dutch taekwondo practitioner. He competed in the 80 kg event at the 2012 Summer Olympics; after defeating Abdelrahman Ahmed in the preliminary round, he was eliminated by Arman Yeremyan ...

at the European Championships in

Riga, Latvia Riga ( ) is the capital, primate, and largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga metropolitan area, which stretches beyond the city lim ...

, marking the end of his illustrious, fifteen-year-old taekwondo career.

References

External links

* * * 1975 births Living people Danish male taekwondo practitioners Olympic taekwondo practitioners for Denmark Taekwondo practitioners at the 2004 Summer Olympics World Taekwondo Championships medalists European Taekwondo Championships medalists Martial artists from Copenhagen 20th-century Danish sportsmen 21st-century Danish sportsmen {{Denmark-taekwondo-bio-stub