Bohr, Harald

Harald August Bohr

Sport:
soccer

Country Represented:
Denmark

Years Competed:
1908

Medals Received:
silver

Olympic Info:
Bohr, a midfielder for Denmark, won a silver medal in the first official Olympic soccer competition at the 1908 London Games. Originally eight countries were scheduled to compete, but Hungary and Bohemia withdrew due to political problems in the Balkans. One of Bohr's teammates on the Danish squad was defender Charles Buchwald; both Bohr and Buchwald played for a Danish club team called Academicals.

Harald scored two goals in Denmark's 9-0 quarterfinal victory over the French 'B' team (France sent two soccer teams to the Olympics). The following game, in the semifinals, the powerful Danish team defeated the French 'A' team, 17-1. It was the largest differential in international play until Iran defeated Maldives, 17-0 in a 1997 World Cup qualifier. The Danes lost 2-0 in the 1908 Olympic final to Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland all participated together at the Games).

Career Highlights:
Bohr, whose brother was Nobel Prize winning physicist Niels Bohr (their mother was Jewish), was a member of the Danish National Soccer Team in the late 19th century at the beginning of the country's participation in international competition. He played in Denmark's first four international matches, the 1908 Olympics and a friendly against England in 1910. A world-famous mathematician, Harald may very well be the only member of his profession to have won an Olympic medal.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. April 22, 1887 - d. Jan. 22, 1951

Origin:
Copenhagen, Denmark

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