Ilona Mononen
Finnish athlete (born 2003)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ilona Mononen (born 18 December 2003) is a Finnish runner. She has won national indoor championship titles over 3000 metres and 5000 metres. She is the Finnish national record holder in the 3000 metres steeplechase.[1]
| |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Finnish |
| Born | 18 December 2003 |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event(s) | Long distance running, Steeplechase |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal bests | 1500m: 4:14.79 (Joensuu, 2023) 3000m: 9:02.00 (Kuortane, 2023) 5000m: 15:41.82 (Tallinn, 2023) 3000m s'chase: 9:15.18 (Stockholm, 2026) NR |
Medal record | |
Biography
Mononen won the gold medal at the 2021 European Athletics U20 Championships in Tallinn over 3000 metres aged 17 years-old.[2] At the 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, she finished eighth in the 1500 metres and fourth in the 3000 metres.[3][4]
At the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia she finished seventh in the 1500 metres and fifth over 3000 metres.[5] She competed in the 5000 metres at the 2022 European Athletics Championships in Munich.[6] At the 2022 European Cross Country Championships in Turin she won bronze in the U20 category in December 2022.[7]
At the 2023 European Cross Country Championships she won silver in the under-23 category in Brussels.[8] In February 2024, she ran a national record over 3000 metres to win the Nordic Championship.[9]
Mononen ran a national record of 9:23.28 in the 3000m steeplechase at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome in June 2024.[10] She competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the Women's 3000 metres steeplechase.[11] In December 2024, she won the bronze medal in the U23 race at the European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Turkey.[12]
Mononen won the 3000 metres at the Finnish Indoor Athletics Championships in February 2025, running a time of 9:14.06.[13] She was selected to compete for Finland at the 2025 European Running Championships in Belgium in April 2025.[14] Competing at the 2025 European Athletics Team Championships in Madrid on 29 June 2025, she won the 3000 metres steeplechase by 0.03 seconds from Sarah Tait of Great Britain.[15][16] She ran 9:30.49 to win the gold medal in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2025 European Athletics U23 Championships in Bergen, Norway.[17] That month, she also won the gold medal at the 2025 World Summer University Games in Bochum, over 3000 metres.[18] Selected for the Finnish team for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, she lowered her national record to 9:21.02 but did not qualify for the final of the 3000 metres steeplechase.[19][20]
On 14 December, she was silver medalist behind Maria Forero in the under-23 category at the 2025 European Cross Country Championships in Portugal.[21] On 1 March 2026, she won the 3000 metres in 8.55.17 ahead of Nathalie Blomqvist at the Finish Indoor Championships in Espoo.[22] She lowered her own 3000 m steeplechase national record to 9:18.50 finishing third behind Alemnat Walle and Gracie Hyde at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku on 3 June.[23] On 7 June, she lowered it again with 9:15.18 at the Diamond League event in Stockholm.[24]