The three-time youth medalist has run one 3,000-meter steeplechase in his career. However, Mononen believes that the venue for both the European Championships and the Olympics is fully realistic.
One of the brightest Finnish hopes in endurance running Ilona Mononen, 20, will start her season on Sunday in Germany with the 2,000-meter steeplechase. The idea of steeplechase arose already at the end of last summer, when the Lahti Ahkera runner, who had won medals in youth competitions both on smooth track trips and in cross-country, needed new stimuli.
– Another reason was that I still wanted to collect Kaleva cup points for Lahti Ahkera at the end of the summer, and it was considered that you could get them quite easily from the junior championships, Monone’s time.
Mononen won the hurdles at the junior championships in Tampere at the end of August with a time of 10:12.64, and Ahkera from Lahti received the Kaleva cup for the best club at the end of the season. Mononen’s enthusiasm for steeplechase remained.
Obstacle feeling
Mononen has been getting a feel for the obstacles in the spring training at the fences. He has hardly done any actual hurdles training, and he has never once practiced crossing a water obstacle into the water. The goal for the opening race of the season is therefore moderate.
– As long as I get out of there intact, Mononen laughs.
The Lahti native will run his first 3,000-meter steeplechase in mid-May, also in Germany. The direct result limit for the Rome European Championships is 9:37.00.
– If the obstacles themselves pass in any way, then that time should be quite doable.
Continuation of the experiment?
In the steeplechase, Mononen aims not only at the European Championships in Rome, but also at the Olympic Games in Paris. The continuation of the obstacle trial in the coming years depends on how the competitions of the beginning summer go.
– I would hope that in the future I could run smooth distances and obstacles side by side. Of course, if the obstacles exceed expectations, then why couldn’t it even be the main sport in the future, Mononen ponders.