| Axel Vang Christensen | |
| Nationality: | Danish |
| Sport: | Athletics |
| Event: | Steeplechase, cross-country |
| Birth Date: | 30 July 2004 |
| Pb: | 3000m Steeplechase: 8:29.12 (Bergen, 2022) 5km: 13:42 (Monaco, 2022) 10km: 29:01 (Århus, 2022) |
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]
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]