From Jakob Ingebrigtsen to Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal to Andreas Almgren, Nordic distance runners have left an indelible mark on the distance running scene in recent years.
But behind those leading lights, a new generation of young and super-talented Nordic distance runners are coming through the ranks.
Look out for all 10 athletes at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa on 14 December!
Karl Ottfalk (SWE)
Who will succeed Niels Laros as U20 champion at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships? One of the leading aspirants is Swedish distance running prospect Karl Ottfalk who finished fourth in 2023 and fifth last year.
Since then, Ottfalk came away with medals in the 3000m and 5000m at the European Athletics U20 Championships in Tampere and he took a significant win in the U20 race at the Nordic Cross Country Championships, also leading Sweden to team gold.
Sebastian Lörstad (SWE)
Surprisingly, Ottfalk isn’t the fastest Swedish U20 athlete over 5000m this year. That honorific goes to 17-year-old Sebastian Lörstad who has clocked 13:43.27 for 5000m this year.
Lörstad didn’t compete at the European Athletics U20 Championships this year but he was a runaway winner of the 3000m title at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Skopje in July, taking the title by over 20 seconds.
Lörstad finished a creditable 12th in the U20 race last year when he was one of the youngest entrants at 16 but he is expected to improve significantly last year. And with only three counters to score, Sweden has an excellent chance of winning a rare medal in the team race.
Håkon Moe Berg (NOR)
But if track results is an indicator of form, Håkon Moe Berg will be the favourite to continue the theme of Nordic success in the U20 race following four wins from compatriot Jakob Ingebrigtsen between 2016-19 and victories from Denmark’s Axel Vang Christensen in 2021 and 2023.
Moe Berg swept the 1500m and 3000m titles at the European Athletics U20 Championships in Tampere and even represented Norway alongside Ingebrigtsen at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
But can he translate this form to the 4.45km of cross country racing in Lagoa? This will be the 19-year-old’s debut at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships.
Andrea Nygard Vie (NOR)
Norway has never won a team title in the U20 women’s race but if there was to be a collective challenge to the Brits who have won the last two team titles, it could come from a rapidly improving Norwegian team.
The star name on their U20 team is Andrea Nygard Vie who won 3000m steeplechase gold at the European Athletics U20 Championships in Tampere and more recently won the U20 title at the Nordic Cross Country Championships, also leading Norway to team gold.
And Nygard Vie has achieved all this in spite of being diagnosed with type one diabetes in May. “Over time, I have found out more about what works for me, both in training and in everyday life, although there are still some ups and downs. I really want to show that nothing is impossible,” she said.
Joel Ibler Lillesø (DEN)
After winning U20 bronze in Dublin, Joel Ibler Lillesø had to wait almost four years before returning to the podium in a major event. He did so in style, winning 10,000m gold in a sprint finish at the European Athletics U23 Championships in Bergen by just 0.04 seconds.
Lillesø, who is a training partner of Dutch prodigy Niels Laros, only finished seventh in the U23 race in Antalya last year but he did lead Denmark to a surprise bronze medal in the team race.
Can he win an individual medal in Lagoa in what will be his last significant race in the U23 ranks?
Ilona Mononen (FIN)
An individual medallist at the last three SPAR European Cross Country Championships, can Ilona Mononen step up to win gold in her final appearance in the U23 ranks in Lagoa?
Still only 21, Mononen has enjoyed her most successful year to date, taking victories in the 3000m steeplechase at the European Athletics Team Championships, European Athletics U23 Championships and at the World University Games in the space of a month.
Can Mononen transfer this prolific winning track form onto the country?
Carmen Cernjul (SWE)
Football’s loss is athletics’ gain. Carmen Cernjul has represented Sweden internationally in both sports but the 18-year-old has chosen to focus solely on the latter.
Cernjul won silver medals in both the 1500m and 3000m at the European Athletics U20 Championships in Tampere in August. This will be her first appearance at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships.
Jonathan Grahn (SWE)
Grahn came to prominence in 2023 when he outsprinted reigning champion Nick Griggs for the 3000m title at the European Athletics U20 Championships. He was also involved in the thrilling 10,000m in Bergen 2025, just losing out to Lillesø in their last lap tete-a-tete.
Surprisingly, this will be Grahn’s debut at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships but that is not to say he isn’t capable of dethroning reigning two-time champion Will Barnicoat for the U23 title.
Andreas Fjeld Halvorsen (NOR)
Another leading contender for the U23 title is Norway’s Andreas Fjeld Halvorsen who makes his debut in this age-group after winning bronze in the U20 race behind Laros last year.
Halvorsen does have the distinction of winning one of the few titles that has eluded Jakob Ingebrigtsen. He outsprinted the opposition for 3000m gold at last year’s World Athletics U20 Championships, becoming the first non-African winner of a men’s distance running title in championship history.
Wilma Anna Bekkemoen Torbiornsson (NOR)
Another possible medal contender in the women’s U20 race is Wilma Anna Bekkemoen Torbiornoss who is making steady progress through the age-group ranks having won medals on the track at both the European Athletics U18 and U20 Championships in the last two years.
After finishing seventh last year when she was still in the U18 ranks, can Bekkemoen Torbiornoss make the podium in her second appearance in the U20 race at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships?
