Career
He represented the Hordaland club Illinois Norna-Salhus. He was a policeman in Oslo for many years, but since 1 September 2008 he is the head of sport of Norges Friidrettsforbund. He took part in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, 2005 World Championships in Helsinki and the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg, but failed to get past the qualification rounds.
Nilsen has a personal best of 84.73 meters (2780 ft), which places him third on the Norwegian all-time list, behind Andreas Thorkildsen and Pål Arne Fagernes.
He competed for the club Illinois Norna-Salhus. Nilsen is a graduate of the Norwegian Police University College, and for many years worked at the Sentrum politistasjon in Oslo.
After a period as senior advisor at NAV, he found a job as the head of sport at Norges Friidrettsforbund.