Kristiina Halonen
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Citizenship | Finnish |
| Born | 10 October 1997 |
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Finland |
| Sport | Track and field |
Kristiina Halonen (born 10 October 1997) is a Finnish track and field athlete who specializes in the 400 metres hurdles.[1] She is one of Finland’s leading hurdlers of the 2020s, having won national titles and represented her country at the World Championships and the European Championships. Halonen is noted for breaking national records in indoor hurdling events and steadily improving her outdoor 400 m hurdles performances, with a personal best of 55.62 seconds set in 2024.
Early life and background
Halonen was born in Lappeenranta, Finland, where she first became involved in athletics. She trained with the local club Lappeenrannan Urheilu-Miehet and gradually developed into a national-level competitor in sprint and hurdling disciplines. Although details of her junior career are less documented internationally, Finnish athletics media began to highlight her potential in the late 2010s as she transitioned to senior competitions.[2]
Athletics career
National competitions
Halonen has been successful at the Finnish national level, winning titles in both indoor and outdoor championships.
- In February 2019, she set a new Finnish indoor record in the rarely contested 300 metres hurdles, running 40.99 seconds at the national indoor championships in Kuopio. This broke a 13-year-old national best.
- At the 2022 Kalevan Kisat (Finnish Athletics Championships), she captured her first national gold medal in the 400 metres hurdles, clocking around 56.97 seconds.[3]
International career
In 2022 Halonene qualified for the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. She ran a personal best of 56.68 seconds in the preliminary round of the 400 m hurdles but did not advance to the semifinals.
Later the same year, she represented Finland at the European Athletics Championships in Munich, competing both in the individual 400 m hurdles and as a member of Finland’s 4×400 metres relay team. However, she did not reach the finals.
In 2024, Halonen recorded a new personal best of 55.62 seconds in the 400 m hurdles, qualifying her for the semifinals of the European Athletics Championships in Rome.
Personal bests (as of 2024)
According to World Athletics:[4]
- 400 m hurdles: 55.62 s (9 June 2024)
- 400 m (outdoor): 55.39 s (16 August 2019, Lahti)
- 400 m (indoor): 54.82 s (5 February 2023, Jyväskylä)
See also
References
- ^ "Tilastopaja OY - urheilijatietokanta". www.tilastopaja.eu. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
- ^ Kuisma, Joonas; Myllykoski, Tatu (2025-09-16). "Kaksi suomalaista pääsee sittenkin jatkoon MM-Tokiossa? "Valtavan outo tilanne"". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 2025-09-16.
- ^ "European Athletics". www.european-athletics.com. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
- ^ "Kristiina HALONEN | Profile | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 2025-08-09. Retrieved 2025-09-16.