Axel_Vang_Christensen
Axel Vang Christensen
Danish athlete
Axel Vang Christensen (born 30 July 2004) is a Danish track and field athlete and cross-country runner. He is the 2021 and 2023 European Cross Country U20 champion.[1]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Danish | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (2004-07-30) 30 July 2004 (age 19) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Steeplechase, cross-country | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | 3000m Steeplechase: 8:29.12 (Bergen, 2022) 5km: 13:42 (Monaco, 2022) 10km: 29:01 (Århus, 2022) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Christensen was brought up in Hillerod, to the north of Copenhagen. 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.[2] He attended the University of Birmingham, where he was a contemporary of Will Barnicoat.[3]
In 2021 he won silver in the 3000 Metres Steeplechase at the 2021 European Athletics U20 Championships in Tallinn.[4] He won the U20 race at the 2021 European Cross Country Championships in Dublin.[5]
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.[6] He competed in the 3000m steeplechase at the 2022 European Athletics Championships in Munich, however he picked up an injury during the race and could not complete the course.[7]
In December 2023, he won the 2023 European Cross Country Championships U20 race in Brussels, finishing strongly ahead of Niels Laros and Nick Griggs.[8]
- "Axel Vang Christensen". World Athletics. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
- "Gold in Dublin could be just the beginning for Scandinavia's latest distance running prodigy Christensen". European-Athletics. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
- Henderson, Jason (December 11, 2022). "Barnicoat pips Griggs in Euro Cross U20 thriller". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
- Smythe, Steve (July 19, 2021). "European U20 Championships, Tallinn, Estonia, July 15-18, 2021". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
- "Christensen Dominates U20 Race". Runners Gazette. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
- "Denmark's 17-year-old running phenomenon does it again". dr.dk. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
- Poggi, Alessandro. "Heartwarming sportsmanship displayed by Andorran steeplechase runner at 2022 European athletics championships in Munich". Olympics.com. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
- O'Riordan, Ian (10 December 2023). "Nick Griggs's bronze run leads Ireland to European team under-20 gold in Brussels". Irish Times. Retrieved 10 December 2023.