Career HIGHLIGHTS

• 7^th at European indoor Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden (2013) with NR and European junior record
• 8^th at World junior Championships in Lille, France (2011)
• 6 times National champion, Finland
• 3 times participation at European Championships
• 4x400m relay in Diamond League Oslo and running fastest time of Finland in 49 years 3.29,65
• Comeback after 7 years

Personal information

Ella is currently making a strong comeback to her event. She was a huge and promising youth star but spent 7 years off the track and field because of injuries, depression, and pain.

Sport has always played a huge role in Ella’s life. She has done various sports throughout her childhood and youth (skiing, orienteering, dancing, and outdoor activities) and she has also played violin for almost 15 years. Ella is talented and likes to compete a lot. Running has always been natural to her and at the age of 15 she started focusing more on track and field and started working with her first personal coach. She has always been naturally fast, and her endurance capability is also good, so it`s no wonder the 400m suits her.

Ella has done great results and represented Finland in major competitions despite her young age. Ella was only 15 years old when she won the national 200 m silver. That was followed by other Finnish championship medals and records, the European junior indoor record, and semi-final and final placements in the major Championships. In 2013 she ran at the European Indoor Championships in Gothenburg at just 19 years of age. There Ella ran that Finnish indoor record, and the European indoor junior record at 52.37. Her career was on the rise.

 In 2014, everything changed. The European Championships in Zürich remained her last major competition. Ella completely disappeared from the track after the summer and was diagnosed with depression. There was a heavy load, which drove her into a state of physical and mental overexertion. It took a long time to recover. Injuries have also made her comeback a bit complicated. Both of her heels have gone through surgery, she has had back problems, muscles tears and a lot of problems with her general health.

Ella made a comeback in 2021 summer and was able to run a few 400m races and relay. Season 2023 was already different. Ella stayed healthy and was able to train steadily. She worked a lot for this and did also training camps abroad. Her dream is still to succeed at the European Championships and get to the Olympics. Ella is proud of her journey so far and she is looking forward to seeing where this path still leads.

Outside the track Ella has talked openly about difficult issues and mental health problems in sports. If the system is broken, there can be no results. The old system has driven a lot of athletes into a cycle of injuries and mental health problems. Things have started to change, but the change hasn´t come in an instant. There are a lot of promising young athletes in Finland, and she also wants, through her own experience, to help them now and in the future.