Knud Enemark Jensen (30 November 1936 – 26 August 1960) was a Danish cyclist who died while participating in the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy. During his career, he was involved in an early doping scandal.

Biography

Enemark Jensen was born in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

. In 1960 he was the winner of the individual Nordic Championship, as well as a member of the Danish team that won the silver medal in the team time trial at that event. The Olympic 100 km team time trial road race was held in heat on Viale Cristoforo Colombo in Rome. One of the four-man Danish team,

Jørgen Jørgensen Jørgen Jørgensen (name of birth: Jürgensen, and changed to Jorgenson from 1817) (29 March 1780 – 20 January 1841) was a Danes, Danish adventurer during the Age of Revolution. During the action of 2 March 1808, his ship was captured by the ...

, dropped out of the race due to

sunstroke Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun-stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstr ...

after the first lap, necessitating that all three remaining Danish cyclists finish the race for the team not to be disqualified. Enemark Jensen told his teammates that he felt dizzy.

Niels Baunsøe Niels Baunsøe (29 June 1939 – 12 March 2012) was a Danish cyclist. He competed in the team time trial at the 1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as ...

clutched his jersey, keeping him from falling, while

Vagn Bangsborg Vagn Bangsborg (born 28 May 1936) is a Danish former cyclist. He competed in the team time trial at the 1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( ...

held Enemark Jensen from the other side. Bangsborg sprayed Enemark Jensen with water, leading to an apparent improvement, but when Baunsøe let go, Enemark Jensen collapsed and fractured his skull on the pavement.Maraniss, pp. 110-113. Enemark Jensen was brought by ambulance to a military tent near the finish line, with temperatures inside the tent reaching approximately ,Møller, page 461 where he died that afternoon without regaining consciousness.

Prince Axel of Denmark Prince Axel of Denmark, ( Danish: ''Prins Axel Christian Georg til Danmark''; 12 August 1888 – 14 July 1964) was a member of the Danish royal family, businessman and sports administrator. He was the second son of Prince Valdemar of Denmark an ...

, an

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

member, was on his way to Enemark Jensen's bedside when Enemark Jensen died.Maraniss, p. 113. Enemark Jensen was incorrectly reported by

wire service A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and All-news radio, radio and News broadcasting, television Broadcasting, broadcasters. A news agency ma ...

s to be in a hospital. Oluf Jørgensen, the Danish cycling team's trainer, told Danish government investigators that he had given Enemark Jensen and some other cyclists Roniacol (nicotinyl alcohol), a

vasodilator Vasodilation, also known as vasorelaxation, is the widening of blood vessels. It results from relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, in particular in the large veins, large arteries, and smaller arterioles. Blood vessel wal ...

.Maraniss, p. 138. Enemark Jensen's

autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

was conducted at the Istituto di Medicina Legale. On 25 March 1961, the three Italian physicians who performed the autopsy submitted a final report stating that Enemark Jensen's death was caused by

heatstroke Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun-stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstroke, ...

, and that no drugs were found in his body.Maraniss, p. 141. The complete autopsy report was never made public. Years later, Alvaro Marchiori, one of the doctors who conducted the autopsy, claimed that they had "found traces of several things", including

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from Alpha and beta carbon, alpha-methylphenethylamine, methylphenethylamine) is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, an ...

. Enemark Jensen's death led the International Olympic Committee to form a medical committee in 1961 and institute drug testing at the

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. The 1968 Winter Games marked the first time ...

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

, France, and at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, Mexico.Maraniss, p. 142. Enemark Jensen was married to the niece of former Olympic cycling champion Henry Hansen. His family received one million lire () from an Olympic insurance policy in compensation for his death.

References

External links

Olympics timeline
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Enemark Jensen, Knud 1936 births 1960 deaths Cyclists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Cyclists who died while racing Danish male cyclists Doping in sport Olympic cyclists for Denmark Olympic deaths Sport deaths in Italy Cyclists from Aarhus 20th-century Danish sportsmen

Biography

See also

References

External links