Rune Glifberg

Rune Glifberg
Glifberg in 2006
Personal information
NicknameThe Danish Destroyer
Born (1974-10-07) 7 October 1974 (age 50)
Copenhagen, Denmark
OccupationProfessional skateboarder
Years active1985–present
Height180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight73 kg (161 lb)
Sport
CountryDenmark
SportSkateboarding
PositionRegular-footed
Rank32nd (Park)[1]
Event(s)Park, vert and vert doubles
Turned pro1992
Former partnerMike Crum
Achievements and titles
National finals
  • Danish Skateboarding Championship 2021: Men's park – Gold
  • Danish Skateboarding Championship 2019: Men's park – Bronze
Medal record
Men's skateboarding
Representing  Denmark
Summer X Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Los Angeles Park
Gold medal – first place 2009 Los Angeles Park
Silver medal – second place 1997 San Diego Vert
Silver medal – second place 2003 Los Angeles Vert Doubles
Silver medal – second place 2013 Foz do Iguacu Park
Bronze medal – third place 1995 Newport Vert
Bronze medal – third place 1999 San Diego Vert Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Philadelphia Vert
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Philadelphia Vert Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Los Angeles Vert
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Los Angeles Vert
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Los Angeles Park

Rune Glifberg (born 7 October 1974), nicknamed "The Danish Destroyer", is a Danish professional skateboarder. He is one of three skaters to have competed at every X Games. He has a total of 12 X Games medals.[2] At 46, he became the oldest skateboarder to ever compete in the Olympic Games and the first male skateboarder to ever compete in a park event in the Olympic Games when he represented Denmark in the men's park event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[3]

Early life

Rune Glifberg was born in Copenhagen and began skating at the age of 11 years after a friend brought a skateboard as a gift, which he had bought in the US. He entered his first pro contest in France in 1990 and turned pro in 1992. Glifberg moved from Denmark to Costa Mesa, California, after he finished secondary school in 1995.[4][5]

Professional skateboarding

In the early 1990s, Glifberg turned professional as a vert skater and relocated to the United States. Glifberg signed a contract with Flip Skateboards and, as of July 2021, he remains a member of the company's professional team.[6]

Glifberg was sponsored by shoe company Etnies at around the same time as he joined Flip and his second signature shoe was called the Forsvar, meaning "defend" or "defense" in Danish. As of September 2012, Glifberg has released a line of signature shoes with Converse that consists of "The Allston" and the "Rune Pro Mid" models.

Glifberg is a playable character in the first five games of the Tony Hawk series of video games that consists of the four Pro Skater games and Tony Hawk's Underground.[7]

Company owner

Glifberg is a part-owner of Pipeline Distribution and runs a Copenhagen-based event company "RunEvent". RunEvent was the organizer of 2010's "Burning of the Witch" skateboard contest at Amager Strandpark in Copenhagen. Burning of the Witch was jointly sponsored by Volcom, one of Glifberg's sponsors, and Thrasher Magazine. RunEvent organized Glifberg's 25th skateboarding anniversary that was held at Fælledparken in Copenhagen during the summer of 2011.

In 2009, Glifberg and architect Ebbe Lykke founded the skatepark design firm Glifberg+Lykke in Copenhagen.[8][9] The duo have since taken the lead on a number of projects in Europe, including the Streetdome in Haderslev, Denmark;[10] Oslo Skatehall in Oslo, Norway;[11] Skatepark Eller in Düsseldorf, Germany;[12] and the Urban Sport Zone in Amsterdam, Netherlands.[13]

  • Streetdome in Haderslev
    Streetdome in Haderslev

Personal life

Glifberg resided in the United States for seventeen years, living for a period in the Leucadia district of Encinitas, California.[14] He moved back to Denmark in the early 2010s and, as of 2021, is based in Copenhagen.[15]

Contest history

Sponsors

Active sponsors as of July 2021:[18]

Former sponsors

References

  1. ^ "Olympic World Skateboarding Rankings – Park, Male". World Skate. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  2. ^ "X Games Event Spotlights: Skateboard Street & Skateboard Park « The World Famous KROQ". Kroq.cbslocal.com. 28 July 2010. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  3. ^ Agarwal, Kalptaru (26 July 2021). "Danish skateboarder Rune Glifberg becomes the oldest debutant at Tokyo Olympics". The Bridge. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  4. ^ Cave, Steve (21 April 2013). "Rune Glifberg Bio". About.com. Archived from the original on 14 April 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  5. ^ Dreboldt, Henrik (9 July 2006). "Fra Rødovre til verdensstjerne". Berlingske (in Danish). Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Team". Flip Skateboards. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  7. ^ "Rune Glifberg". IMDb. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  8. ^ "Our Philosophy". Glifberg+Lykke. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  9. ^ Bane, Colin (11 November 2014). "Rune Glifberg and the future of skatepark design". X Games. Archived from the original on 6 May 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Rune Glifberg and Streetdome". X Games. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  11. ^ Fontrodona, Marc (20 January 2017). "Marvel at the suspended bowl of Oslo Skatehall". Red Bull. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Skatepark Eller". Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  13. ^ "The largest skate park in the Netherlands opens today". TheMayor.EU. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Rockstar Energy Drink: Sports > Skateboarding > Rune Glifberg". Rockstarenergy.no.com. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  15. ^ "Athletes: GLIFBERG Rune (Skateboarding)". Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Olympics.com. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  16. ^ a b Rune Glifberg SKATEBOARDER. "Rune Glifberg Profile - Competition History - ESPN". Espn.go.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  17. ^ "Rune Glifberg Profile". The Boardr. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  18. ^ Meronek, Rob. "Profiles and Bios: Rune Glifberg from Copenhagen DEN". The Boardr. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  19. ^ [1] Archived 2 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine