Sofia Thøgersen (born 6 July 2005) is a Danish middle distance and long distance runner. A multiple-time national champion, and the Danish national record holder over

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

, in 2023 she became the youngest Danish athlete to compete at the

World Athletics Championships The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial sport of athletics, athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations ...

Early life

Thøgersen joined Sparta Athletics and Running club in

Østerbro Østerbro () is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is located just north of the city centre, outside the old city gate Østerport which, after it was moved around 1700, used to be located close to present-day ...

when she was six years-old.

Career

2021

In 2021, Thøgersen became the senior Danish champion over

1500m The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilometers ...

, aged 16 years-old. Thøgersen won silver 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 t ...

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, in a

3000m The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m shou ...

world-leading time by an under-18 year-old athlete in Europe, of 9:16.43. In November 2021, competing as one of the youngest athletes in the race, Thøgersen finished 15th 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 is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

2022

She won gold at the

2022 European Athletics U18 Championships The 2022 European Athletics U18 Championships was the third edition of the biennial continental athletics competition for European athletes aged fifteen to seventeen. It was held in Jerusalem from 4 to 7 July at the Hebrew University Stadium. Th ...

over 3000m in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

and also won bronze at the 2000m steeplechase at the same championship. That year, she won two national titles indoors, over 1500 meters and 3000 meters. She also retained her Danish senior champion outdoor title over 1500m in

Alborg Aalborg or Ålborg ( , , ) is Denmark's fourth largest urban settlement (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, ...

in June 2022. She secured victory in the women’s U20 race at the

Nordic Cross Country Championships The Nordic Cross Country Championships is an annual international cross country running competition that is contested between the Nordic countries. The championships are generally held in mid-November and the host nation rotates every year between ...

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

in November 2022.

2023

In 2023, she retained her senior 1500m title in June 2023. Selected for the

2023 World Athletics Championships – Women's 1500 metres The women's 1500 metres at the 2023 World Athletics Championships was held at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest from 19 to 22 August 2023. Summary Since 2015 when she lost to the world record holder Genzebe Dibaba, the only time Faith ...

, she became the youngest Danish competitor in championship history, and had to apply for time-off from her school in order to compete. Although she didn't qualify for the semi final, she ran a new national record time of 4:05.34. Thøgersen also set a new national record time for the 3000m in 2023, running 8.53.39 at the Copenhagen Athletics Games in

, improving

Anna Emilie Møller Anna Emilie Møller (born 28 July 1997) is a Denmark, Danish athlete competing in the 3000 metres steeplechase. She represented her country at the 2016 Summer Olympics without qualifying for the final. In her heat, however, she set the new List ...

's 18-year record by 17 seconds. She defended her U20 women’s title at the Nordic Cross Country Championships in

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

in November 2023. Selected for the 2023 European Cross Country Championships in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

in December 2023, she won silver in the women's U20 race behind

Innes FitzGerald Innes FitzGerald (born 6 April 2006) is a British track and field athlete and cross country runner. She is the 2023 and 2024 European U20 Cross Country champion. Early life FitzGerald hails from Beer, Devon and attended Axe Valley Academy. He ...

2024

In January 2024 in

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

, she broke the European indoor U20 record for the 3000 metres (8:50.26) breaking the previous mark (8:56.36) set by

Konstanze Klosterhalfen Konstanze "Koko" Klosterhalfen (born 18 February 1997) is a German middle- and long-distance runner. She is the 2019 World Championship bronze medallist and 2022 European champion in the 5000 metres, becoming the first German medalist of the ...

of Germany, in 2016. Thøgersen's time was also a Danish indoor senior record, and made her the first Danish woman to break the 9:00-minute barrier indoors. She competed in the women's 1500 metres race at the

2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships The 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships was the 19th edition of the international indoor track and field competition, organised by the World Athletics. The event was held between 1–3 March at the Commonwealth Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velod ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. She won the senior women’s race at the Danish Cross Country Championships in Odense in November 2024. She won the bronze medal in the U20 race at the 2024

European Cross Country Championships The European Cross Country Championships is an annual international cross country running competition. Organised by the European Athletic Association, it is the area championships for the region and is held in December each year. The championship ...

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

, Turkey.

Personal life

Her younger brother William Thøgersen also competes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorgersen, Sofia Living people 2005 births Danish female steeplechase runners Danish female middle-distance runners 21st-century Danish sportswomen