Ilona Mononen, who won bronze at the European Youth Championships in cross-country running, is happy that she is now a part of Finnish endurance running history.
Endurance running promise Ilona Mononen turns 19 in a week. Mononen got an early birthday present on Sunday, when he won the bronze medal in the cross-country running in the under-20 category of the European Championships.
Born in 2003, the runner was a little confused about the fact that he is about to turn years old. Recently, all the focus has been on the EC terrains held in Turin.
– I haven’t even thought about that. This is one of the best birthday gifts one could wish for. Birthdays have not been top of mind. Maybe we could combine medal coffees and celebrating birthdays next week, Mononen planned.
In the under-20 category, the distance was four kilometers. Only Spain managed to get ahead of Monone Maria Forero and Norway Ingeborg Östgård.
Mono was considered one of the race’s favorites in advance. A year ago, he finished fourth in the same series.
– The track was really technical and tough. The last downhill came as hard as we could. During the race, I didn’t really know what was happening around me.
Mononen was in the under-20 league for the last time.
– This was the icing on the cake in this series. Can move to the under-23 league next year. Yes, this can be appreciated very much.
At the same time, Monose became the first Finnish runner in 20 years who has managed to win medals at the European Championships. Elina Lindgren ran second in the same series in 2002.
– Year of celebration. Hopefully the next medal in this series will come sooner than 20 years from now. It’s great to be a part of Finnish cross-country history, Mononen beamed.
Home games are interesting
Mononen is one of Finland’s fiercest endurance runners. He won the European championship at 3,000 meters the other summer. In the Junior World Championships, he has twice been eighth at 1,500 meters.
Endurance running coach Janne Ukonmaanaho told Urheilu on Saturday that he hoped for a cross-country running culture in Finland. Mono is interested in cross-country running, although the main focus is on the track.
– Cross-country running and 3,000 meters on the track are completely different sports. What I like about cross-country running is that time doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t call myself a trail runner, but these have some flair. Especially in Europe, this sport is highly valued.
Mononen plans to compete in cross-country races in the future as well. In the under-23 category, the distance is six kilometers.
– This year I had four kilometers for the last time, which has been a good distance for me. When I get more clubs under my belt year after year, I believe that I will definitely come to the European Championships every year. This is a good interlude to what kind of condition we are in. After these, you can appreciate the ease of track running.
The young runner hopes to stay healthy in the future. Right after Christmas, Mononen leaves for a camp in Monte Gordo, Portugal, after which he opens his reign. Mononen may aim for the European Championships in Belgrade. He is currently in the competition place through the ranking.
Next summer, Monose will have the opportunity to compete at home, when the under-23 European Championships in athletics will be held in July in Espoo. There, his options are 1,500 and 5,000 meters.
– I want to run to the best of my potential in the summer. It would be really great to do well in the home games. I look forward to them.
Nathalie Blomqvist completed a strong Finnish endurance running day by finishing eighth in the under-23 category. Eemil Helander was 24th in the men’s corresponding series.
Finland, which participated in the mixed relay for the first time, was 12th. The team was run by those who returned from a four-month competition break Top Raitanen mixed Camilla Richardson, Joonas Rinne and Viola Westling.
In the men’s and women’s series, Norway Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Karoline Bjerkeli Grövdal repeated their last year’s championships.