Emma Coburn

Emma Coburn

Coburn at the 2016 Olympic Games.
Personal information
Born (1990-10-19) October 19, 1990
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight 120 lb (54 kg)
Sport
Country  United States
Event(s) 3000 m st.
College team Colorado Buffaloes
Coached by Joe Bosshard
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)

3000 m st.: 9:07.63 (AR) 1500 m: 4:05.29

Mile: 4:23.8
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
2016 Rio de Janeiro 3000 m steeplechase
Continental Cup
2014 Marrakech 3000 m steeplechase

Emma Coburn (born October 19, 1990) is an American middle distance runner who specializes in the 3000 meter steeplechase. She set an American Record of 9:07.63 in the 3000 meter steeplechase to win a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games. Her other achievements in the event include reaching the 2008 Olympic final (8th), and the World Championship finals in 2011 (10th) and 2015 (5th). She also won the 2014 IAAF Continental Cup, and is a four-time (2011, 12, 14, 15) United States National Champion.

High school career

Emma Coburn finished second in the 2008 Nike Outdoor Nationals Track and Field Championships in 2000 meter steeplechase in 6:42. She attended Crested Butte Community School.[1][2]

College career

While attending the University of Colorado, in 2010, Emma Coburn won the Big 12 steeplechase title as a sophomore and finished second in the NCAA championships. In 2011, as a junior, she won both the Big 12 indoor 3000 meter title, and the Big 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 Emma Coburn became the fourth fastest American in history and the fastest American on US soil with her time of 9:25.28. [3] The time was also a 12-second PR for Coburn, who redshirted the 2012 outdoor season at the University of 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.[4]

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.[5] At age 21, Coburn was the youngest runner on the American team at the 2012 Olympics.[5] In her Olympic heat, she placed third with a time of 9:27.51, automatically qualifying for the Olympic final.[6] She came in 9th in the final, with a time of 9:23.54 - a then personal best.[6]

In 2014, Coburn improved her 3000 m steeplechase best four times. At the Shanghai diamond league meeting, she ran 9:19.81, before improving this to 9:17.84 for third at the Eugene diamond league event 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. Then at the diamond league meet in Glasgow Grand Prix, Scotland, she broke Simpson's American record of 9:12.51, by running 9:11.42 and finishing second in the race to Ethiopian Hiwot Ayalew.

In 2015, Coburn's indoor mile ranks 28th in the world[7] and came back later that day to set a personal best in the 2000 meters 5:41.11. Emma ran an Olympic qualifying time (1500m) 4:05.1 in Eugene, Oregon at Prefontaine meet in May. Coburn won the steeplechase at the 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships to qualify for 2015 World Championships in Athletics, where she placed fifth.

In 2016, Coburn opened her outdoor season running 4:06.92 in 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. [8] Coburn broke the American record for a third time earning bronze in 9:07.63 in the 2016 Olympic steeplechase, to become 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.[9]

On December 2nd, 2016, Coburn announced on her Twitter account that she is leaving Coach Mark Wetmore after "an amazing 8 years" to be coached by her fiancee Joe Bosshard.

Competition record

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing the  United States
2011 World Championships Daegu, South Korea 10th 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

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[10]
2012 US Olympic Trials Eugene, Oregon 1st 3000 m steeplechase 9:32.78[11]
2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Sacramento, California 1st 3000 m steeplechase 9:19.72[12]
2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Eugene, Oregon 1st 3000 m steeplechase 9:15.59[13]
2016 US Olympic Trials Eugene, Oregon 1st 3000 m steeplechase 9:17.48

Personal best

Surface Event Time Date Location
Outdoor track 1500 m 4:05.10 May 30, 2015 Eugene, Oregon
Mile 4:33.24 July 25, 2012 Dublin, Ireland
3000 m 8:59.76 September 3, 2015 Zürich, Switzerland
2000 m steeplechase 6:47.39June 16, 2007 Greensboro, North Carolina
3000 m steeplechase 9:07.63August 15, 2016 Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Indoor track 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 5:41.11February 7, 2015 Boston, Massachusetts
3000 m 9:17.46February 26, 2011 Lincoln, Nebraska
Road Mile 4:23.8 September 3, 2016 New York, New York

References

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