Ilona Mononen


Ilona Mononen 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.

Career

She won gold at the 2021 [European Athletics U20 Championships] in Tallinn over 3000 metres aged 17 years-old. At the 2021 [World Athletics U20 Championships] in Nairobi, she finished eighth in the 1500 metres and fifth in the 3000 metres.
At the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia she finished eighth again in the 1500 metres and fifth over 3000 metres. She competed in the 5000 metres at the 2022 European Athletics Championships in Munich. At the 2022 European [Cross Country Championships#Medal summary|2022 European Cross Country Championships] in Turin she won bronze in the U20 category in December 2022.
At the 2023 European Cross Country Championships she won silver in the under-23 category in Brussels. In February 2024, she ran a national record over 3000 metres to win the Nordic Championship.
She ran a national record of 9:23.28 in the 3000m steeplechase at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome in June 2024. She competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Women's 3000 metres steeplechase|2024 Summer Olympics] in the Women's 3000 metres steeplechase. In December 2024, she won the bronze medal in the U23 race at the European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Turkey.
She won the 3000 metres at the Finnish [Indoor Athletics Championships] in February 2025, running a time of 9:14.06. She was selected to compete for Finland at the 2025 European Running Championships in Belgium in April 2025. 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. 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. She was selected for the Finnish team for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, where she lowered her national record to 9:21.02 but did not qualify for the final of the 3000 metres steeplechase.
On 14 December, she was silver medalist behind Maria Forero in the under-23 category at the 2025 European Cross Country Championships in Portugal.