Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen (born 20 September 1965) is a retired Danish badminton player and sports administrator. As a player, he won major international singles titles in the 1990s, culminated in the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics, and ranks among Denmark's badminton greats. In 2013, he became president of the Badminton World Federation, having served as president of the Badminton Europe for three years, and then served three four-year terms. In 2014, Høyer became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), he was also a board member of the Danish Olympic Committee from 2005, from which he also retired from in 2025.

Badminton career Høyer Larsen competed in three Summer Olympics. In Barcelona 1992, he was defeated in quarterfinals by Ardy Wiranata. In Atlanta 1996,Mohapatra, Bikash (10 July 2021). "Dane & now: Poul-Erik Høyer’s Olympic triumph and thereafter", [Badzine]. Retrieved on 1 September 2021. 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.

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.Hoyer Larsen new DBF Vice-President, BadZine.info, 14 February 2007 On 18 May 2013, Høyer was elected president of the Badminton World Federation.Duncan Mackay: Great Dane is new President of Badminton World Federation. In: Badminton › Articles. Inside the Games, 18 May 2013. InsideTheGames.biz, retrieved on 29 September 2023. He served for another two four-year terms after winning reelection in 2017 and 2021. He retired from the presidency on 26 April 2025 and was replaced by Patama Leeswadtrakul.

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 Result1986Carlton Inter-sport Cup Sze Yu2–15, 17–14, 15–11 Winner1986Scottish Open Steve Baddeley4–15, 11–15 Runner-up1987Dutch Open Darren Hall15–4, 15–1 Winner1988Denmark Open Zhang Qingwu15–9, 18–16 Winner1989Poona Open Michael Kjeldsen15–10, 15–8 Winner1989French Open Xiong Guobao7–15, 3–15 Runner-up1990Japan Open Morten Frost9–15, 4–15 Runner-up1990Swedish Open Liu Jun8–15, 11–15 Runner-up1990Dutch Open Hermawan Susanto10–15, 6–15 Runner-up1990Denmark Open Morten Frost4–15, 15–10, 17–15 Winner1991Dutch Open Hermawan Susanto18–17, 6–15, 15–10 Winner1991German Open Hermawan Susanto15–8, 15–8 Winner1991Denmark Open Hermawan Susanto15–8, 12–15, 8–15 Runner-up1992Swedish Open Fung Permadi18–15, 15–3 Winner1992Finnish Open Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen15–8, 15–8 Winner1992U.S. Open Liu Jun15–7, 15–4 Winner1992Denmark Open Darren Hall11–15, 13–18 Runner-up1993Swedish Open Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen7–15, 17–14, 13–15 Runner-up1993Dutch Open Alan Budi Kusuma11–15, 15–5, 15–11 Winner1993Denmark Open Jens Olsson15–11, 15–2 Winner1994Swiss Open Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen18–17, 16–17, 3–15 Runner-up1994Dutch Open Peter Rasmussen15–7, 15–7 Winner1994German Open Jens Olsson15–3, 15–9 Winner1994Denmark Open Alan Budi Kusuma17–18, 15–4, 15–10 Winner1995All England Open Hariyanto Arbi17–16, 15–6 Winner1995Russian Open Hendrawan14–17, 11–15 Runner-up1995Denmark Open Hendrawan17–18, 17–14, 17–15 Winner1995German Open Joko Suprianto14–17, 11–15 Runner-up1995China Open Dong Jiong8–15, 9–15 Runner-up1996Swiss Open Thomas Johansson15–9, 16–17, 15–10 Winner1996All England Open Rashid Sidek15–7, 15–6 Winner1996U.S. Open Joko Suprianto13–15, 13–15 Runner-up1996Dutch Open Sun Jun1–15, 1–15 Runner-up1997Chinese Taipei Open Peter Gade10–15, 15–18 Runner-up1997Swiss Open Dong Jiong15–17, 11–15 Runner-up1997Russian Open Kenneth Jonassen15–2, 15–2 Winner1997U.S. Open Peter Gade15–6, 7–15, 15–2 Winner1997German Open Peter Gade15–12, 12–15, 12–15 Runner-up1999Denmark Open Wong Choong Hann17–15, 15–4 Winner

IBF International (2 titles, 1 runner-up) Men's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result1990Nordic Championships Peter Axelsson15–6, 15–6 Winner1990Wimbledon Tournament Anders Nielsen15–7, 15–9 Winner1992Nordic Championships Thomas Stuer-Lauridsen6–15, 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. In September 2020, he confirmed that he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

References

External links

Poul-Erik Høyer at Badminton.dk