Ilona Mononen finishes eighth in European 3,000m steeplechase final

Finnish runner Ilona Mononen finished eighth in the women's 3,000m steeplechase final at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham. Mononen recorded a time of 9:25.62, missing out on a medal position.

The race was characterized by fluctuating paces. Germany's Gesa Felicitas Krause won the event with a time of 9:12.69. Alice Finot of France took silver with 9:14.24, and Germany's Olivia Gürth secured bronze with 9:15.33.

Mononen expressed disappointment following the race, noting that she lacked the necessary sharpness to respond when the pace accelerated in the final stages. She mentioned that while her warm-up felt good, she struggled with the tactical pace changes during the competition. She intends to analyze the performance with her coach, Mikko Rajaniemi.