Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen

Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen is the former president of the Badminton World Federation and a retired Danish badminton player who won major international singles titles in the 1990s, and ranks among Denmark's badminton greats. In 2014, Høyer became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), he has been a board member of the Danish Olympic Committee since 2005.^[2]

Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen
Poul-Erik in 2018
Personal information
Country	Denmark
Born	(1965-09-20) 20 September 1965 (age 59) Helsinge, Denmark
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Retired	2000[1]
Handedness	Left
Men's singles
Career record	398 wins, 93 losses
Highest ranking	1
Medal record Men's badminton Representing  Denmark Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta Men's Singles World Championships 1995 Lausanne Men's singles 1997 Glasgow Men's singles 1999 Copenhagen Men's singles World Cup 1989 Guangzhou Men's singles Sudirman Cup 1991 Copenhagen Mixed team 1993 Birmingham Mixed team 1997 Glasgow Mixed team Thomas Cup 1996 Hong Kong Men's team 1990 Tokyo Men's team 1998 Hong Kong Men's team 2000 Kuala Lumpur Men's team European Championships 1992 Glasgow Men's singles 1994 Den Bosch Men's singles 1996 Herning Men's singles 1990 Moscow Mixed team 1996 Herning Mixed team 1998 Sofia Mixed team 2000 Glasgow Mixed team 2000 Glasgow Men's singles 1992 Glasgow Mixed team 1994 Den Bosch Mixed team 1990 Moscow Men's singles 1998 Sofia Men's singles

Badminton career

Høyer Larsen competed in three Summer Olympics. In Barcelona 1992, he was defeated in quarterfinals by Ardy Wiranata. In Atlanta 1996,^[3] he won the gold medal in the men's singles after beating Dong Jiong in the final. In 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, he lost in the opening round.^[1]

He also won two All-England Open Badminton Championships in 1995 and 1996, and the European Badminton Championships in 1992, 1994 and 1996.

Høyer became president of Badminton Europe in 2010. In February 2007, he was nominated vice-president of the Danmarks Badminton Forbund.^[4] On 18 May 2013, Høyer was elected president of the Badminton World Federation.^[5] He served for another two four-year terms after winning reelection in 2017 and 2021.^[6] He is set to retire from the presidency on 26 April 2025.^[7]

Achievements

Olympic Games

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1996	Georgia State University Gymnasium, Atlanta, United States	Dong Jiong	15–12, 15–10	Gold

World Championships

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1995	Malley Sports Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland	Hariyanto Arbi	10–15, 7–15	Bronze
1997	Scotstoun Centre, Glasgow, Scotland	Sun Jun	7–15, 17–14, 9–15	Bronze
1999	Brøndby Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark	Sun Jun	4–15, 6–15	Bronze

World Cup

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1989	Guangzhou Gymnasium, Guangzhou, China	Foo Kok Keong	7–15, 17–18	Bronze

European Championships

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1990	Moscow, Soviet Union	Steve Baddeley	10–15, 15–0, 11–15	Bronze
1992	Glasgow, Scotland	Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen	15–10, 15–10	Gold
1994	Den Bosch, Netherlands	Tomas Johansson	15–9, 15–5	Gold
1996	Herning, Denmark	Peter Rasmussen	15–5, 15–11	Gold
1998	Sofia, Bulgaria	Kenneth Jonassen	6–15, 6–15	Bronze
2000	Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena, Glasgow, Scotland	Peter Gade	5–15, 11–15	Silver

IBF World Grand Prix (22 titles, 17 runners-up)

The World Badminton Grand Prix sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) from 1983 to 2006.

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
1986	Carlton Inter-sport Cup	Sze Yu	2–15, 17–14, 15–11	Winner
1986	Scottish Open	Steve Baddeley	4–15, 11–15	Runner-up
1987	Dutch Open	Darren Hall	15–4, 15–1	Winner
1988	Denmark Open	Zhang Qingwu	15–9, 18–16	Winner
1989	Poona Open	Michael Kjeldsen	15–10, 15–8	Winner
1989	French Open	Xiong Guobao	7–15, 3–15	Runner-up
1990	Japan Open	Morten Frost	9–15, 4–15	Runner-up
1990	Swedish Open	Liu Jun	8–15, 11–15	Runner-up
1990	Dutch Open	Hermawan Susanto	10–15, 6–15	Runner-up
1990	Denmark Open	Morten Frost	4–15, 15–10, 17–15	Winner
1991	Dutch Open	Hermawan Susanto	18–17, 6–15, 15–10	Winner
1991	German Open	Hermawan Susanto	15–8, 15–8	Winner
1991	Denmark Open	Hermawan Susanto	15–8, 12–15, 8–15	Runner-up
1992	Swedish Open	Fung Permadi	18–15, 15–3	Winner
1992	Finnish Open	Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen	15–8, 15–8	Winner
1992	U.S. Open	Liu Jun	15–7, 15–4	Winner
1992	Denmark Open	Darren Hall	11–15, 13–18	Runner-up
1993	Swedish Open	Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen	7–15, 17–14, 13–15	Runner-up
1993	Dutch Open	Alan Budi Kusuma	11–15, 15–5, 15–11	Winner
1993	Denmark Open	Jens Olsson	15–11, 15–2	Winner
1994	Swiss Open	Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen	18–17, 16–17, 3–15	Runner-up
1994	Dutch Open	Peter Rasmussen	15–7, 15–7	Winner
1994	German Open	Jens Olsson	15–3, 15–9	Winner
1994	Denmark Open	Alan Budi Kusuma	17–18, 15–4, 15–10	Winner
1995	All England Open	Hariyanto Arbi	17–16, 15–6	Winner
1995	Russian Open	Hendrawan	14–17, 11–15	Runner-up
1995	Denmark Open	Hendrawan	17–18, 17–14, 17–15	Winner
1995	German Open	Joko Suprianto	14–17, 11–15	Runner-up
1995	China Open	Dong Jiong	8–15, 9–15	Runner-up
1996	Swiss Open	Thomas Johansson	15–9, 16–17, 15–10	Winner
1996	All England Open	Rashid Sidek	15–7, 15–6	Winner
1996	U.S. Open	Joko Suprianto	13–15, 13–15	Runner-up
1996	Dutch Open	Sun Jun	1–15, 1–15	Runner-up
1997	Chinese Taipei Open	Peter Gade	10–15, 15–18	Runner-up
1997	Swiss Open	Dong Jiong	15–17, 11–15	Runner-up
1997	Russian Open	Kenneth Jonassen	15–2, 15–2	Winner
1997	U.S. Open	Peter Gade	15–6, 7–15, 15–2	Winner
1997	German Open	Peter Gade	15–12, 12–15, 12–15	Runner-up
1999	Denmark Open	Wong Choong Hann	17–15, 15–4	Winner

IBF International (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
1990	Nordic Championships	Peter Axelsson	15–6, 15–6	Winner
1990	Wimbledon Tournament	Anders Nielsen	15–7, 15–9	Winner
1992	Nordic Championships	Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen	6–15, 9–15	Runner-up

Invitation tournament (1 title, 4 runners-up)

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
1993	Copenhagen Masters	Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen	10–15, 5–15	Runner-up
1994	Copenhagen Masters	Hariyanto Arbi	16–18, 13–18	Runner-up
1995	Copenhagen Masters	Jens Olsson	15–12, 10–15, 10–15	Runner-up
1996	Copenhagen Masters	Hu Zhilan	15–10, 15–10	Winner
1999	Copenhagen Masters	Peter Gade	11–15, 11–15	Runner-up

Personal life

Høyer married his long-time girlfriend Heidi in 1993 after a six-year engagement. They have two sons, Lasse and Mikkel.^[8] In September 2020, he confirmed that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.^[9]