Ilona Mononen ran her record and EC limit in Turku

Ilona Mononen (right) was in shock in Turku. Nathalie Blomqvist came second. Picture of the SM halls from March. Picture: Jussi Eskola

Ilona Mononen was superior in the 10 km race of the Aurajoki night run in Turku on Friday evening. In the women’s race, which gathered an exceptionally strong group of participants, Mononen won with her new record time of 31:32.

Finland’s second endurance running peak Nathalie Blomqvist was more than half a minute behind him at 32.10. The third prestigious representative of athletics Nina Chydenius was third with a time of 33:18.

With his winning time, Mononen broke the 10 km result limit of the European Championships in Birmingham by 32 minutes. For Blomqvist and Chydenius, the border remained a dream again.

Mononen’s time was only six seconds behind Nathalie Blomqvist’s Finnish record of 31.26. SE dreams came crashing down when Mononen had to run most of the distance alone.

“Yes, I had SE in mind before the race, but it would have required a tightening,” the 22-year-old great promise said after the race.

The European Championships in Birmingham will be held at the beginning of August. In the previous European Championships in Rome 2024, Mononen was sixth in the 3000 meter steeplechase in his first category with a SE result, which he improved to new faith a year later at the World Championships in Tokyo.

Mononen has not decided whether he will run in Birmingham as well. The race takes place the day after the obstacle final.

“It’s there as a carrot. You can first see” how the obstacles go

Mononen has been under a strong attack anyway. Last weekend, he ran a Finnish record in the five-kilometer road race on 15.10.