Axel Vang Christensen (born 30 July 2004) is a Danish

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete and

cross-country runner Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

. He is the

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

and 2023 European Cross Country U20 champion.

Early life

Christensen was brought up in Hillerod, to the north of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. He started running initially just in order to increase his fitness for football. However, he won an under-age national title when 11 years-old and changed his focus to athletics. He attended the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

, where he was a contemporary of Will Barnicoat.

Career

In 2021 he won silver in the 3000 Metres Steeplechase at the

2021 European Athletics U20 Championships The 2021 European Athletics U20 Championships were the 26th edition of the biennial European U20 athletics championships. They were held in Tallinn, Estonia from 15 July to 18 July. The 2021 European Athletics U23 Championships had been held in ...

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

. He won the U20 race at the

2021 European Cross Country Championships The 2021 European Cross Country Championships was the 27th edition of the cross country running competition for European athletes. It was held on 12 December 2021 in Dublin, Ireland. Medal summary Medal table References {{European champio ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. In 2021, he also won the Danish national championships over 10k, and retained the title in 2022, finishing a minute ahead of Thijs Nijhuis. In 2022, in Lillesø, he beat the Jakob Ingebrigtsen's U20 European record for 3000 meters indoors. He competed in the 3000m steeplechase at the

2022 European Athletics Championships The 2022 European Athletics Championships were the 25th edition of the European Athletics Championships and were held in Munich, Germany, from 15 to 21 August 2022. They were part of the European Championships, a multi-sport tournament which brin ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, however he picked up an injury during the race and could not complete the course. In December 2023, he won the 2023 European Cross Country Championships U20 race in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, finishing strongly ahead of

Niels Laros Niels Laros (; born 17 April 2005) is a Dutch middle and long-distance runner. In 2022, he became European under-18 champion over 3000m and 5000m. In 2023, he set a new Dutch senior record in the 1500 metres. Early and personal life From Oosterh ...

and Nick Griggs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Axel Vang 2004 births Living people Danish male middle-distance runners Danish male steeplechase runners Danish male cross country runners 21st-century Danish people People from Hillerød Municipality Sportspeople from the Capital Region of Denmark