Emma Coburn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Emma Coburn
2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships (25465645787) (cropped).jpg
Coburn in 2018
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1990-10-19) October 19, 1990 (age 31)
Boulder, Colorado, US
Home townCrested Butte, Colorado
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight120 lb (54 kg)
Sport
Country United States
SportAthletics/Track
Event(s)Steeplechase, 3000 meters, 1500 meters
College teamColorado Buffaloes
ClubNew Balance
Coached byJoe Bosshard
Achievements and titles
World finals
  • 2011 Daegu
  • 3000 m s’chase, 8th
  • 2015 Beijing
  • 3000 m s’chase, 5th
  • 2017 London
  • 3000 m s’chase,  Gold
  • 2019 Doha
  • 3000 m s’chase,  Silver
Olympic finals
  • 2012 London
  • 3000 m s’chase, 8th
  • 2016 Rio de Janeiro
  • 3000 m s’chase,  Bronze
  • 2020 Tokyo
  • 3000 m s’chase, 14th DQ
Personal best(s)
  • Outdoor [1]
  • 800 m: 2:01.10 (Los Angeles 2020)
  • 1500 m: 4:03.82 (Nashville 2020)
  • Mile: 4:23.65 (Marion 2020)
  • 5000 m: 15:24.76 (Austin 2021)
  • 3000 m s’chase: 9:02.35 (Doha 2019)
  • Indoor [1]
  • Mile: 4:29.86 i (New York 2013)
  • 3000 m: 8:39.11 i + (Staten Island 2021)
  • 2-Mile: 9:15.71 i (Staten Island 2021)
  • Road [1]
  • Mile: 4:20.3 a (New York 2018)
Medal record
Women's track and field
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 3000 m s’chase
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 London 3000 m s’chase
Silver medal – second place 2019 Doha 3000 m s’chase
Representing Americas (orthographic projection).svg Americas
Continental Cup
Gold medal – first place 2014 Marrakech 3000 m s’chase

Emma Coburn (born October 19, 1990) is an American middle-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 meter steeplechase. At the 2017 World Championships in London, Coburn won the 3000 metres steeplechase with a time of 9:02.58, breaking her own American record. This made her the first American woman to win a gold medal in the steeplechase at the World Championships.[2] Previously, she set an American record of 9:07.63 in the 3000 meter steeplechase to win a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games. This also made her the first American woman to win any Olympic medal in that event.[3] Her other achievements in the event include earning a silver medal at the 2019 World Championships, reaching the 2012 Olympic final (8th), and the World Championship finals in 2011 (10th) and 2015 (5th). She also won the 2014 IAAF Continental Cup. She is a nine-time (2011, 2012, 2014-2019, and 2021) United States National Champion.[4]

High school career[]

Coburn attended Crested Butte Community School.[5][6] She finished second in the 2008 Nike Outdoor Nationals Track and Field Championships 2000 meter steeplechase in 6:42.

College career[]

Coburn is a three-time NCAA champion (two steeplechase titles and one indoor mile title) and six-time All-American.[7]

While attending the University of Colorado in 2010, Coburn won the Pac-12 steeplechase title as a sophomore and finished second in the NCAA championships.

In 2011, as a junior, Coburn won both the Pac-12 indoor 3000 meter title, and the Pac-12 and NCAA outdoor title in the 3000 meter steeplechase. Coburn won the 2011 USA outdoor title in the steeplechase and made the US steeple team at the World Championships in 2011, finishing 12th in the final. During her senior year in cross country, Coburn finished in 20th place over the six-kilometer distance at the NCAA national cross country championships and was Colorado's 2nd place runner, contributing to an 11th-place team finish.

In her first steeplechase of the 2012 season, Coburn became the fourth-fastest American in history and the fastest American on US soil with her time of 9:25.28.[8] The time was a 12-second PR for Coburn, who redshirted the 2012 outdoor season at Colorado to focus on the Olympic Trials.

Coburn was named the Pac-12 Track Athlete of the Week on April 30, 2013, after recording the best 3,000 steeplechase time in the world for the season.[9]

Professional career[]

Coburn qualified for the 2012 U.S. Olympic team in the 3000 meter steeplechase, joined in the event by her University of Colorado teammate Shalaya Kipp.[10] At age 21, Coburn was the youngest runner on the American team at the 2012 Olympics.[10] In her Olympic heat, she placed third with a time of 9:27.51, automatically qualifying for the final.[11] She came in 9th in the final, with a time of 9:23.54 – a then personal best.[11]

In 2014, Coburn improved her 3000 m steeplechase best four times. At the Shanghai Diamond League meeting, she ran 9:19.81 before improving to 9:17.84 for third at Eugene and 9:19.72 to win her third US title in Sacramento. At the Paris Diamond League meeting, she ran a 9:14.72 for a second-place finish. This moved her to second on the US all-time list behind Jenny Simpson. At the Diamond League meet in Glasgow, Scotland, she broke Simpson's American record of 9:12.51 by running 9:11.42 and finishing second in the race to Hiwot Ayalew.

In 2015, Coburn's indoor mile ranked 28th in the world.[12] Coburn ran an Olympic qualifying time (1500m) of 4:05.1 in Eugene, Oregon, at the Prefontaine meet in May. She won the steeplechase at the 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships to qualify for the 2015 World Championships in Athletics, where she placed fifth.

In 2016, Coburn opened her outdoor season running 4:06.92 in the 1500 meters at Hoka One One Middle Distance Classic hosted at Occidental College. She set a new American record shortly thereafter at the Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field, where she ran 9:10.76 in the 3000 meter steeplechase.[13] Coburn broke the American record for a third time, earning bronze in 9:07.63 in the 2016 Olympic steeplechase and becoming the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in the 3000 meters steeplechase. Coburn placed ninth in 4:23.8 at the 2016 Fifth Avenue Mile.[14]

On December 2, 2016, Coburn announced on her Twitter account that she was leaving Coach Mark Wetmore after "an amazing 8 years." She moved coaches to her then fiancé, now husband, Joe Bosshard.

On May 5, 2017, Coburn opened her outdoor season at the IAAF Diamond League 2017 Doha Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix, racing the steeplechase in 9:14 to place 5th.[15] She then took gold in the 2017 World Championships on August 11 in London. This championship made her the first American woman to win a gold medal in the steeplechase at either the World Championships or the Olympics.[2] Four of the Kenyan-born women she beat in that race, including Olympic champion/world record holder Ruth Jebet had previously run faster than Coburn. Courtney Frerichs won a silver medal at the same event, thus making Coburn and Frerichs the first Americans to win the gold and silver medal in any individual World Championships or Olympics race longer than 400 meters since the 1912 Stockholm Games.[2]

In January 2018, Coburn opened her indoor season at Western State Colorado University, where she ran a then Colorado state record mile (at 7717 feet elevation) (since broken by Dani Jones on February 3, 2018, 4:36.05-mile in the University of Colorado's Indoor Practice Facility at 5430 feet elevation). Coburn followed her mile victory with a pair of 3000 meters races, first on February 3 at the Millrose Games in 8:41.16, a runner-up finish to teammate Aisha Praught-Leer who ran 8:41.10,[16] and then at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on February 10, 2018, at the Reggie Lewis Center where her time of 8:43.57 placed 4th.[17] Coburn finished 3rd in the 3000 meters at the 2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships behind winner Shelby Houlihan and runner-up Katie Mackey.

On June 30, 2019, she ran 9:04.90 to place second behind world record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech in the star-studded Diamond League steeple at the Prefontaine Classic held in Stanford, California.[18] On July 28, Coburn ran 9:25.63 at the 2019 USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships. Since she was the defending World Champion from 2017, she already was an automatic qualifier for the 2019 World Championships. Second was U.S. record-holder Courtney Frerichs, who ran 9:26.61, and also qualified to run in Doha, Qatar in September.[19]

In June, 2021 Coburn qualified for her third Olympic Games by finishing first in the 3000m at the American trials in Eugene, OR with a time of 9:09:41.[20] She placed 14th at the competition's finals on August 4, 2021, having tripped over a barrier, but was disqualified for touching the track's delimiting railing when she fell.[21] Congratulating fellow American silver medalist Courtney Frerichs, she posted "Hugs in victory and defeat. Always appreciate this friendship and the constant effort required to be excellent together," while also having expressed her frustration at her own performance: "My Tokyo Olympic race was a total failure. I was terrible. Disappointed to not be my best and represent my country and team well. Thank you for all the kind words of support."[21]

Competition record[]

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing the  United States
2011 World Championships Daegu, South Korea 8th 3000 m steeplechase 9:51.40
2012 Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 8th 3000 m steeplechase 9:23.54
2015 World Championships Beijing, China 5th 3000 m steeplechase 9:21.78
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 3rd 3000 m steeplechase 9:07.63
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom 1st 3000 m steeplechase 9:02.58 CR
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar 2nd 3000 m steeplechase 9:02.35 PR
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 14th DQ 3000 m steeplechase 9:41.50

USA National Championships[]

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Eugene, Oregon 1st 3000 m steeplechase 9:44.11[22]
2012 US Olympic Trials Eugene, Oregon 1st 3000 m steeplechase 9:32.78[23]
2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Sacramento, California 1st 3000 m steeplechase 9:19.72[24]
2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Eugene, Oregon 1st 3000 m steeplechase 9:15.59[25]
2016 US Olympic Trials Eugene, Oregon 1st 3000 m steeplechase 9:17.48[26]
2017 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Sacramento, California 1st 3000 m steeplechase 9:20.28[27]
2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships Albuquerque, New Mexico 3rd 3000 m 9:01.85[28]
2018 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Des Moines, Iowa 1st 3000 m steeplechase 9:17.70[29]
2019 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Des Moines, Iowa 1st 3000 m steeplechase 9:25.63[30]
2021 US Olympic Trials Eugene, Oregon 1st 3000 m steeplechase 9:09.41[31]

Personal bests[]

Surface Event Time Date Location
Outdoor track 800m 2:01.10 August 22, 2020 Los Angeles, CA
1500 m 4:04.40 August 10, 2019 Memphis, Tennessee
Mile 4:31.08 September 5, 2018 Bay Shore, New York
3000 m 8:48.60 August 20, 2017 Birmingham
5000 m 15:24.76 February 27, 2021 Austin, TX
2000 m steeplechase 6:44.42 June 19, 2008 Greensboro, North Carolina
3000 m steeplechase 9:02.35 September 30, 2019 Doha, Qatar
Indoor track 1000 m 2:52.43 February 27, 2009 College Station, TX
1500 m 4:12.31 February 16, 2013 New York, New York
Mile 4:29.86 February 16, 2013 New York, New York
2000 m 5:41.11 February 7, 2015 Boston, Massachusetts
3000 m 8:41.16 February 3, 2018 New York, New York
2 Miles 9:15.71 February 13, 2021 New York, New York
Road Mile 4:20.3 September 9, 2018 New York, New York

Season bests[]

All sourced from worldathletics.org unless otherwise noted.[32]

Surface Event 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Outdoor track 800m 2:01.10
1500 m 4:11.89 4:04.40 4:03.82 4:04.28
Mile 4:31.08 4:32.72
3000 m 8:48.60
5000 m 15:24.76
3000 m steeplechase 9:02.58 9:05.06 9:02.35 9:08.22
Indoor track 1500 m 4:14.39
Mile 4:32.68
3000 m 8:41.16 8:52.27 8:56.60 8:39.19
2 Miles 9:32.81 9:15.71

Personal life[]

In September 2017, Coburn organized the Crested Butte, Colorado, Elk 5 km race as a charity fundraiser for the Crested Butte Cancer Support Community. In October 2017, she married Joe Bosshard.[33]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Emma Coburn". worldathletics. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Zaccardi, Nick (August 11, 2017). "Emma Coburn leads shocking U.S. steeplechase one-two (video) – OlympicTalk". NBC Sports. NBC. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  3. ^ "Emma Coburn wins first U.S. women's Olympic medal in steeplechase". Mile High Sports. August 15, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  4. ^ Chavez, Chris. "Coburn Finishes as Top U.S. Qualifier in Steeplechase". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  5. ^ "cubuffs.com Emma Coburn profile". Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  6. ^ Deschenes, Kara. "active.com Olympic Steeplechaser Emma Coburn is Optimistic About the Future". Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  7. ^ "Colorado Buffs Emma Coburn 2012 profile". Colorado Buffaloes. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  8. ^ Coburn, Emma. "All-Time lists World Best women's 3000 meters steeplechase". all-athletics.com. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  9. ^ Sprouse, Linda (April 30, 2013). "Coburn Named Pac-12 Track Athlete of the Week". CUBuffs.com. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Gambaccini, Peter (July 13, 2012). "Brief Chat: Emma Coburn, Olympian at 21". Runner's World. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  11. ^ a b "London 2012 – Women's 3000m Steeplechase results". Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  12. ^ "One Mile – women – senior – indoor – 2015". IAAF. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  13. ^ Patty, Daniel (May 28, 2016). "Colorado runner Emma Coburn sets American record in steeplechase". The Denver Post. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  14. ^ "New Balance 5th Avenue Mile to Feature Olympians and Runners of All Ages and Abilities on Saturday, September 3". New York Road Runners. July 21, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  15. ^ "IAAF DIAMOND LEAGUE Doha (QAT) 5 May 2017 Results 3000m Steeplechase Women" (PDF). IAAF. May 5, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  16. ^ "2018 Millrose Games – 111th NYRR Millrose Games Results". MileSplit. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  17. ^ "2018 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix Results". MileSplit. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  18. ^ Results: Women 3000 M Steeplechase (Final),, June 30, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  19. ^ Boise State alum Allie Ostrander takes 4th at USATF Championships. Boise State alum Allie Ostrander takes 4th at USATF Championships], KTVB, Jay Tust, July 28, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  20. ^ "Emma Coburn wins 3,000 women's steeplechase at third consecutive Olympic Trials".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ a b "Why did Emma Coburn get a DQ? Runner's disqualification explained". The Focus. August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  22. ^ "Events – 2011 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships". USATF. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  23. ^ "Events – 2012 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships". USATF. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  24. ^ "Events – 2014 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships". USATF. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  25. ^ "Events – 2015 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships". USATF. Archived from the original on October 5, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  26. ^ Watch: Emma Coburn heads to Rio after dominating trials victory, Sports Illustrated, Chris Chavez, July 7, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  27. ^ "Events – 2017 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships". USATF. Archived from the original on October 12, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  28. ^ https://results.usatf.org/2018indoors/ Retrieved Aug 5 2021
  29. ^ https://results.usatf.org/2018Outdoors/ Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  30. ^ https://results.usatf.org/2019Outdoors/ Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  31. ^ https://results.usatf.org/ Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  32. ^ "Emma COBURN | Profile | World Athletics". www.worldathletics.org. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  33. ^ "Emma Coburn Just Had the Wedding Every Running Couple Dreams Of". Runner's World. October 18, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2018.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""