The summer of 2021 was a special one for athletes all around the world, who were finally able to have their chance to compete in the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
Unfortunately, due to the global health restrictions currently in place, the Games are being held without spectators, which also means that many royals who would have normally travelled to the Games were not able to do so.
They are, therefore, using social media to congratulate athletes for their successes and victories.
This was the case for Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, who over the past three days has used the Royal Household’s Instagram account to post congratulatory messages to some of the athletes that have won medals during the Games.
The latest post was directed to Emma Aastrand Jørgensen, who won a bronze medal in the sprint kayak competition. The post also addressed the controversy the Danish track team got into with the British team during the semifinals, when the Danes caused a crash that threw Team GB off course. Some have reported hearing curse words from the Danes directed at the Brits, but the competition has been declared valid.
The post before that was published to congratulate Victor Axelsen for his gold medal in badminton, and to bid farewell to Sara Slott Petersen, who, by failing to qualify for the finals, concluded her sporting career, having won a silver medal in Rio for the 400-metre hurdles.
The first post, from four days ago, congratulated Anne-Marie Rindom for her gold medal in the Laser Radial competition (sailing) and swimmer Pernille Blume for her bronze medal in the 50m freestyle.
And it was Blume who became the protagonist of what will become one of the most memorable moments of these Olympics, with her hug with partner Florent Manaudou, who had just won a silver medal in the 50m freestyle competition a few minutes earlier.
All three posts were signed by the Crown Prince and will form part of the permanent archive that is the Royal Household’s social media accounts.
Crown Prince Frederik was supposed to travel to Tokyo, having been fully vaccinated, but before leaving he had a close contact with someone who subsequently tested positive and had to isolate, which prevented him from attending his last Olympic Games as a member of the IOC.
He has announced his decision to retire from the active role he has in the International Olympic Committee to focus more on domestic projects and initiatives dedicated to fight climate change.
