Rune Glifberg

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]

Rune Glifberg

Glifberg in 2006
Personal information
Nickname(s)	The Danish Destroyer
Born	(1974-10-07) 7 October 1974 (age 48) Copenhagen, Denmark
Occupation	Professional skateboarder
Years active	1985–present
Height	180 cm
Weight	73 kg (161 lb)
Sport
Country	Denmark
Sport	Skateboarding
Position	Regular-footed
Rank	32nd (Park)^[1]
Event(s)	Park, vert and vert doubles
Turned pro	1992
Former partner(s)	Mike 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 X Games 2008 Los Angeles Park 2009 Los Angeles Park 1997 San Diego Vert 2003 Los Angeles Vert doubles 2013 Foz do Iguacu Park 1995 Newport Vert 1999 San Diego Vert doubles 2002 Philadelphia Vert 2002 Philadelphia Vert doubles 2003 Los Angeles Vert 2004 Los Angeles Vert 2012 Los Angeles Park

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 Skatehalll in Oslo, Norway;^[11] Skatepark Eller in Düsseldorf, Germany;^[12] and the Urban Sport Zone in Amsterdam, Netherlands.^[13]

•  

  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

X-Games history:^[16] Summer 2013 Skateboard Park: 4 Summer 2013 Skateboard Park: 2 Summer 2012 Skateboard Park: 3 Summer 2011 Skateboard Vert: 17 Summer 2011 Skateboard Park: 7 Summer 2010 Skateboard Park: 7 Summer 2009 Skateboard Vert: 7 Summer 2009 Skateboard Park: 1 Summer 2008 Skateboard Vert: 10 Summer 2008 Skateboard Park: 1 Summer 2007 Skateboard Vert: 7 Summer 2006 Skateboard Vert: 5 Summer 2005 Skateboard Vert Best Trick: 5 Summer 2005 Skateboard Vert: 9 Summer 2004 Skateboard Vert: 3 Summer 2003 Skateboard Vert Doubles (Mike Crum): 2 Summer 2003 Skateboard Vert Best Trick: 6 Summer 2003 Skateboard Vert: 3 Summer 2002 Skateboard Vert Doubles (Mike Crum): 3 Summer 2002 Skateboard Vert: 3 Summer 2001 Skateboard Vert: 6 Summer 2000 Skateboard Vert Doubles (Mike Crum): 6 Summer 2000 Skateboard Vert 5 Summer 1999 Skateboard Vert Doubles (Mike Crum): 3 Summer 1999 Skateboard Vert: 12 Summer 1998 Skateboard Vert: 12 Summer 1997 Skateboard Vert Doubles (Mike Crum): 5 Summer 1997 Skateboard Vert: 2 Summer 1996 Skateboard Vert: 17 Summer 1995 Skateboard Vert: 3

Competitive History^[16] 2nd. Place - 2010 Vans Protec Pool Party 2nd. Place - 2009 Converse Fix To Ride 1st. Place - 2009 X GAMES 15 Skateboard Park 1st. Place - 2009 Copenhagen Pro vert 3rd. Place - 2009 Vans Protec Pool Party 1st. Place - 2008 X GAMES 14 SUPERPARK 1st Place. WCSK8 - World Champion Skateboarding World Bowl Rankings 2nd. Place - 2008 Copenhagen Pro vert 1st. Place - 2008 Quiksilver Bowlriders Malmo 1st. Place - 2008 Vans Protec Pool Party 2nd. Place - 2008 Bondi Bowl-A-Rama Australia 1st. Place - 2008 Okaley Bowl-A-Rama Wellington, New Zealand 1st. Place - 2007 Copenhagen Pro vert 2nd in 2007 WCSK8 World Bowl Rankings 1st. Place - 2007 Protec Pool Party 1st. Place - 2007 Bowl-A-Rama Australia 1st. Place - 2007 Quiksilver Bowlriders (Sweden) 1st. Place - 2006 Northshore Bowl Jam 3rd. Place - 2006 Desert Dog Park Slalom 1st. Place - 2006 Desert Dog Bowl Bash 2nd. Place - 2006 GVR Etnies Bowl 1st. Place - 2006 Mystic Sk8 Cup: Vert 2nd. place - 2006 Oregon Trifecta West Linn, Oregon Bowl 1st. Place - 2006 Oregon Trifecta Lincoln City, Oregon Bowl 2nd. Place - 2006 WCSK8 World Bowl Rankings 2nd. Place - 2006 Vans Pro-Tec Pool Party 1st. Place - 2005 Vans Pro-Tec Pool Party 1st. Place - 2004 Mystic Sk8 Cup: Vert 3rd. Place - 2004 Toronto West 49 Open Vert Best Trick 3rd. Place - 2004 Toronto West 49 Open Vert 1st. Place - 2004 Gravity Games: Vert 1st. Place - 2004 Snickers Bowl Games 2nd in 2003 WCSK8 Pro Vert European Rankings 2nd. Place - 2003 Globe World Championships Vert 1st. Place - 2003 Scandinavian Open: Vert 1st. Place - 2003 Tampa Pro: Vert 2nd in 2002 Pro Vert European Rankings 1st. place - 2002 Scandinavian Open: Vert Ranked 1st; World Champion Skateboarding Vert 2001 1st Place - 2001 Scandinavian Open: Vert 1st. Place - 2001 Gravity Games: Vert 1st. Place - 1998 Slam City Jam: Vert 1st. Place - 1996 Slam City Jam: Vert

Sponsors

Active sponsors as of July 2021:^[17]

• Flip Skateboards^[6]
• Hazard Wheels
• Indy
• Monster Energy
• Nike SB
• Pro-Tec
• Volcom

Former sponsors

• Converse^[18]
• MOB Griptape^{[citation needed]}
• Oakley
• Ricta

References

1. "Olympic World Skateboarding Rankings – Park, Male". World Skate. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
2. . 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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
4. Cave, Steve (21 April 2013). . 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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
6. "Team". Flip Skateboards. Retrieved 1 August 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
7. "Rune Glifberg". IMDb. Retrieved 1 May 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
8. "Our Philosophy". Glifberg+Lykke. Retrieved 30 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
9. Bane, Colin (11 November 2014). "Rune Glifberg and the future of skatepark design". X Games. Retrieved 30 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
12. "Skatepark Eller". Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
13. "The largest skate park in the Netherlands opens today". TheMayor.EU. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
16. Rune Glifberg SKATEBOARDER. "Rune Glifberg Profile - Competition History - ESPN". Espn.go.com. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
17. Meronek, Rob. "Profiles and Bios: Rune Glifberg from Copenhagen DEN". The Boardr. Retrieved 30 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
18. [1] 2 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Rune Glifberg at Olympedia  
• Rune Glifberg at the X Games  
• Rune Glifberg at The Boardr