Michael Nielsen (sport shooter)

{{short description|Danish sport shooter}}

{{for|persons of a similar name|Michael Nielsen (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox sportsperson

| headercolor = #d09df2

| name = Michael Nielsen

| image =

| imagesize =

| caption =

| fullname = Michael Nielsen

| nickname =

| nationality = {{DEN}}

| residence =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1975|8|3|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Roskilde, Denmark

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height = {{height|m=1.74|abbr=on}}

| weight = {{convert|86|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}

| website =

| country =

| sport = Shooting

| event = Skeet (SK125)

| club = SK København

| coach = Kjild Fristrup

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalSport | Men's shooting}}

{{MedalCountry|{{DEN}}}}

{{MedalCompetition|European Championships}}

{{MedalSilver | 2003 Brno | SK125 }}

| show-medals = yes

}}

Michael Nielsen (born 3 August 1975 in Roskilde) is a Danish sport shooter.{{cite sports-reference|title = Michael Nielsen|url = https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ni/michael-nielsen-1.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200418063426/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ni/michael-nielsen-1.html|url-status = dead|archive-date = 18 April 2020|access-date = 18 August 2015}} He won a silver medal in skeet shooting at the 2003 European Championships in Brno, Czech Republic, and eventually finished seventh at the 2004 Summer Olympics, competing for the Danish team.{{cite web|title=ISSF Profile – Michael Nielsen|url=http://www.issf-sports.org/shooters/shooter.ashx?personissfid=SHDENM0308197501|publisher=ISSF|accessdate=18 October 2014}} Nielsen trains under longtime coach Kjild Fristrup as a member of the shooting team at SK København.{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Bjørn|title=Dansk OL-helt snuppede fra klubkassen|trans-title=Danish Olympic brand snatched from the club box|language=da|url=http://ekstrabladet.dk/sport/anden_sport/anden_sport/article4777728.ece|publisher=Ekstrabladet|date=4 June 2004|accessdate=18 August 2015}}

Nielsen qualified for the Danish team in the men's skeet at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He had eclipsed a minimum qualifying score of 124 to strike a silver-medal finish and to grab one of the Olympic quota places available at the European Championships less than a year earlier.{{cite news|title=Grimmel og Nielsen udtaget til OL|trans-title=Grimmel and Nielsen qualified for the Olympics|language=da|url=http://www.bt.dk/sport/grimmel-og-nielsen-udtaget-til-ol&|publisher=BT|date=20 August 2004|accessdate=18 August 2015|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924081154/http://www.bt.dk/sport/grimmel-og-nielsen-udtaget-til-ol%26|archivedate=24 September 2015}}{{cite web|title=Shooting 2004 Olympic Qualification |url=http://www.majority-sport.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/home/msp/pages/docs/OQ04/Shooting_OQ_v2.pdf |format=PDF |publisher=Majority Sports |page=10 |accessdate=21 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722132244/http://www.majority-sport.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/home/msp/pages/docs/OQ04/Shooting_OQ_v2.pdf |archivedate=22 July 2015 }} Clearly one of the top favorites vying for an Olympic medal, Nielsen nailed 122 targets out of a possible 125 to force a third-place tie with four other shooters in the qualifying round, but fell abruptly in a tight duel to neighboring Norway's Harald Jensen 2 to 1, who coveted the last seed for the six-man Olympic final, relegating him to seventh.{{cite web|title=Shooting: Men's Skeet Prelims|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics_2004/shooting/results/3532272.stm|work=Athens 2004|publisher=BBC Sport|date=15 August 2004|accessdate=31 January 2013}}{{cite news|title=Finalebom for Jensen, italiensk gull|trans-title=Final for Jensen, Italy wins gold|language=no|url=http://www.nrk.no/sport/meisterskap/athen_2004/4018563.html|publisher=NRK|date=22 August 2004|accessdate=18 August 2015}}

Nielsen is also married to pistol shooter and three-time Olympian Susanne Meyerhoff.{{cite news|title=OL-kandidat, bevæbnet og gravid|trans-title=Olympic athlete feels ready to be pregnant|language=da|url=http://www.dr.dk/sporten/ol-kandidat-bevaebnet-og-gravid|publisher=DR.dk|date=13 February 2012|accessdate=18 August 2015}}