European U23 gold medallist Joel Ibler Lillesø and two-time SPAR European Cross Country Championships medallist Sofia Thøgersen have been named in a 22-strong Danish team for this year’s event in Lagoa on 14 December.
Lillesø was seventh in the men’s U23 race at the Antalya 2024 SPAR European Cross Country Championships, leading Denmark to a surprise bronze medal in the team race. He also won the U20 bronze in Dublin 2021, the same year he took 5000m gold at the Tallinn 2021 European Athletics U20 Championships.
Sofia Thøgersen is a prolific European age group-medallist on track and cross country, winning seven medals, including 3000m gold at the Jerusalem 2022 European Athletics U18 Championships and U20 silver at the Brussels 2023 SPAR European Cross Country Championships, followed U20 bronze in Antalya a year later.
Lillesø and Thøgersen are set to race in the U23 men’s and women’s races respectively.
Møller and Holm return to team after long absences
In the senior women’s team, Anna Emilie Møller is making a welcome return to this level of competition. This will be an eighth SPAR European Cross Country Championships for the 28-year-old, but a first since Dublin 2021 for an athlete who won the women’s U23 title in both Tilburg 2018 and Lisbon 2019.
Meanwhile, the experienced Anna Holm is selected for the tenth time and for the first time since Šamorín 2017.
Denmark will also be fielding a team in the mixed relay which features Danish record-holders Kristian Uldbjerg Hansen and Annemarie Nissen, the latter a training partner of Olympic and European 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson.