Ionela Târlea (during marriage Târlea-Manolache; born 9 February 1976) is a former track and field athlete, competing internationally for Romania.

At the same games in Athens, Greece, Târlea helped the Romanian national team to sixth place in the 4 × 400 m relay.

She gained recognition in top international competitions as early as 1996 at the Atlanta Olympics, when she came seventh in the 400 m hurdles event.

:It was only in early 2008 that she secured her comeback among the world's top athletes as she came third in the 400 m event held in Stuttgart's Sparkassen Cup.

At club level Târlea competed for Dinamo Bucharest, Fenerbahçe Istanbul and Sporting Portugal athletics.