by Stuart WeirEmma Coburn set an AR in Glasgow in 2014. Having watched her come along the past few years, it was pretty awe inspiring and I teared up watching her break the AR. The sad thing was, she did not get her AR there, due to some snag in the protocals.
In 2016, the Olympic medal and in 2017, the amazing gold medal again showed just how far this young American had come. The 2019 WC silver, I believe, was an even better race than her 2017 win.
Stuart Weir wrote this fine piece on Emma Coburn. We think that you will enjoy it.
Emma Coburn, Courtney make history, London 2017, photo by Martin Bateman
Emma Coburn
Emma Coburn is an athlete I have seen run on a number of occasions, including the three races referred to in this article, on which I can provide an eye-witness account. I have also always found her friendly, approachable and thoughtful.
Coburn’s event, the women’s 3000m Steeplechase, has tended to be dominated by Africans and Kenyans in particular. Think Milcah Chemos, Hyvin Kiyeng, Beatrice Chepkeoch.
Emma Coburn, photo by Golden Gala
The Steeplechase at the 2017 World Championships looked likely to follow the usual pattern. Of the thirteen women who lined up in the final, four were Kenyans, two more were Kenyan born, but running for Bahrain and there was an Ethiopian.
Also in the field was Emma Coburn from USA. She has been around for a few years coming 8th in the 2012 Olympics in a PR of 9:23.54. Four years later in Rio she took bronze in 9:07.63, a US national record.
In 2017 Coburn was certainly in the frame but hardly a favorite. With six runners breaking away by the half-way mark, Coburn found herself with the reigning Olympic Champion (Ruth Jebet) and the reigning World Champion (Hyvin Kiyeng) and the rising star, Beatrice Chepkeoch. Coburn took the lead on the final lap to win in a championship record of 9:02.58. and it was her team-mate, Courtney Frerichs, running a PR of 9:03.77 who followed her home. In 2015 Kiyeng had won the World title in 9:19.11. In 2017, Kiyeng was 15 seconds faster but it was only good enough for bronze, behind a remarkable American 1-2.
Coburn recalls that race: “The 2017 World Championships were definitely one of the top moments of my career. I came into the race ranked sixth in the world. In most of the Diamond Leagues, I was finishing fifth or sixth by a big margin. So I thought, coming into the race, if I ran perfectly I could sneak onto the podium but in a championship race – without rabbits – there is always more question marks and anything can happen. In these big championship races, I think anything is possible.
“I came into the race with the intention to stay with the leaders for the first half of the race or the first 2000m and see what happened. It worked out and I felt great. That was a combination of my training, the weather, the group of women that I was running with, the pace, the crowd and the stadium – all of that came together to be a perfect day”.
An element of the perfect day, as Coburn explains, was the US 1-2. “It was cool that Courtney and I both had the best races of our lives. I think that both she and I, in that moment of the race she was right on my shoulder the whole race, and seeing that she was still with me made me feel confident that we could do it and to keep pressing. We definitely had energy fighting together, which was cool. She and I are friends, who talk outside of track. So it was really fun to experience that with her”.
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Being world champion was something that Emma Coburn enjoyed, but it was not life changing. “Being introduced as world champion”, she explained, “is something that will probably stick with me – definitely throughout my running career, possibly beyond that. That has certainly been a little different. But I’m still as eager as I was before and hungry to have greater successes and to improve my times and performances and have consistency in the sport. So my approach to racing and training has not changed at all but it was a nice thing to hear, being introduced as the world champion”.
Two years later, Beatrice Chepkeoch became world champion, resuming Kenyan dominance, with a new championship record of 8:57.8. Coburn confirmed her status at the highest level with a silver medal in a new PR of 9:02.35. She ran an astute tactical race as she explained afterwards.
London 2017, early in the race, photo by Martin Bateman
“I thought that Chepkoech might run really hard and break the field. In my last Diamond League, I went with her and finished up really poorly. In that race we came through 400m in 65 and through 1k in 2:53 and I really suffered, so I was mindful of the clock for the first kilometer to make sure I was running reasonably quick but not too fast.
“I expected that kind of race from her and I am pleased that I was able to gauge my effort properly to come away with the next best thing, a PR and silver medal. I had to run a race which would guarantee me a good shot at the podium and I am really proud of how well I finished”.
As well as the two World Championship finals, another race that I will always associate with Emma Coburn was the strange steeplechase at the Bislett Games in Oslo, 2018. Coburn takes up the story: “One of the barriers was set at the men’s height (36 inches) and not women’s height (30 inches) – that is a big difference. When I went over it the first time, I yelled at my husband (also my coach), who was in the stands to let him know it was the wrong height. Second lap it was still at wrong height. When we came round the third time my husband, Joe, and an official were on the track, trying to get it to the correct height.
“It was a bit of a disaster and some people fell because it was so high. While I did not fall, it definitely rattled my focus a bit. And for the rest of the race I was feeling a bit frustrated and not fully engaged with my goals for the race. I was second and nearly won but, yes, it was a little bit of a frustrating race”.
Having medaled at the last three championships, Coburn should be a strong contender at the 2021 Olympics.
Emma Coburn, Sandra Perkovic, Maria Lasitskene, Alessia Trost, Karrsten Warholm, photo by Golden Gala Roma
