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DIF names athletes for European Game 2015

Xinhua, March 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Danish Olympic Committee (DIF) has named its first five athletes for the Baku 2015 European Games, Azerbaijani media reported Saturday.

To mark the 100 day countdown to the start of Baku 2015, the DIF announced that kayak Rene Holten Poulsen, BMX cyclist Simone Tetsche Christensen, triathlete Casper Stenderup as well as the beach volleyball duo of Peter Kildegaard Andersen and Kristoffer Abell will compete at the European Games.

"The Danish team in Azerbaijan's capital Baku is expected to include 65 athletes in about 17 sports. And the initial quintet represents the image that Denmark is going for medals," Denmark's Chef de Mission Morten Rodtwitt said in a DIF press release. "The Danish team has high potential in several sports at the European Games."

Poulsen is a former world champion and won silver at Beijing 2008. Christensen collected a bronze medal at the 2012 BMX European Championship.And Stenderup is a multiple Danish triathlon champion.

Rodtwitt said the European Games will serve as an excellent test for several athletes for what to expect at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

"Largely the cream of the European elite will be participating in Baku so we will get an indication of how competitive the Danish athletes will be at Rio 2016," Rodtwitt said.

The 2015 European Games will be an international multi-sport event for athletes representing the National Olympic Committees of Europe. It will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 12 to 28 June 2015, and feature over 6,000 athletes from 50 NOCs competing in 20 sports. Endi