Jyväskylä
Middle distances runner Ilona Mononen took his own in the 3,000 meter hurdles at the Kaleva Games on Saturday.
Mononen won gold with a moderate time of 9:46.76 for him. The 22-year-old woman has improved the Finnish record to 9:15,18 this summer.
Reigning Finnish champion Alisa Virtanen hung with the initial distance until Mononen tightened the pace. The first runner of the day was the coach Mikko Rajaniemen with the tactic: “beginning with a relaxed following and ending with a little tightening”.
“It was like a qualifying race. I wanted to try how it felt to accelerate at that speed.”
So how did it feel?
“Just fine. A little break in obstacles and fences is always felt and visible. There have been no obstacle races down there in recent weeks.”
A full water obstacle is a luxury that a hurdler only gets in competitions.
Mononen is the statistical number four in Europe on his main tour. The best women are just seconds away.
In order to catch up with the Finnish peak, he headed to the Sierra Nevada mountains in Spain for July. A small stomach bug disturbed the beginning of the camp.
“I got over it in a few days and recovered well. My legs have held up really well.”
Mononen’s comprehensive training is aimed at the fact that he could win at the European Championships, regardless of whether the final race is a sprint or a sprint.
“Statistics are paper in value competitions. I have been able to run hard in Paavo Nurme’s competitions and in the Diamond League, and they have to be tightened. I also trust [tarvittaessa] with a ton of speed.”
“I am ready for everything and nothing at all.”
Where Mononen prepared for the EC medal fight, Kaleva’s runner-up Alisa Virtanen tried to hurt the rankings.
Virtanen ran his record 9:54.83 and is now looking forward to the performance of his sisters. Sunday is the deadline for qualifying for the EC.
Mononen’s initial pace was intended as a practice for him, but it was a perfect strain for Virtanes. There was talk of cooperation before leaving.
“Alisa asked if I could keep up the pace. However, the coach had a different opinion that I would definitely not become a hare today.”
So the plans accidentally overlapped. Mononen was happy about it.
“It would be nice to have a Finnish guy on the line in Birmingham.”
Mononen’s and maybe Virtanen’s next competition is on August 10th in the heats of the European Championships.