Emma Jane Coburn (born October 19, 1990) is an American

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

who specializes in the 3000-meters

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

. She holds the distinction of being a world champion, world silver medalist, Olympic bronze medalist, three-time Olympian and 10-time US National Champion in the steeplechase. At the 2017 World Championships in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Coburn made history by taking gold thereby becoming the first American since 1952 to win a world steeplechase title. At the event she set a championship record of 9:02.58 and broke her own American record by five seconds. She is a three-time Olympian making the US team in 2012, 2016 and 2020. At the

2016 Olympic Games ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...

in Rio she captured the bronze medal becoming the first American woman to medal in an Olympic steeplechase event. Her finishing time of 9:07.63 established a then-new American record. Her other steeplechase achievements include earning a silver medal at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, reaching the 2012 Olympic final (8th place), and competing in the World Championship finals in 2011 (10th) and 2015 (5th). She also won the

2014 IAAF Continental Cup The 2014 IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field sporting event that was held in Marrakech, Morocco, on 13–14 September 2014. It was the second edition of the IAAF Continental Cup since the name and format was changed from t ...

and is a ten-time United States National Champion winning the event in each of the years she competed (2011, 2012, 2014-2019, 2021, 2022).

High school career

Coburn attended Crested Butte Community School. She was a multi-sport athlete competing in cross-country, volleyball, basketball and track. In 2007, when she was a junior in high school, she traveled to Albuquerque, New Mexico to run in an 800-meters event. While there her father encouraged Coburn to run in another event to make the six hour, 350 mile drive from her home worthwhile. However, because of schedule conflicts, the only event possible was the 2,000-meters steeplechase, which Coburn had never run before and knew little about. She won the race and qualified for the high school national meet. This serendipitous moment launched her steeplechase career. In 2008, she ran 6:42 to finish second at the 2008 Nike Outdoor Nationals Track and Field Championships in the 2000-meters steeplechase.

College career

Coburn attended the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

from 2008-2013 where she was a three-time

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

champion, capturing two steeplechase titles and one indoor mile title. She earned

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

honors six-times. Coburn ran cross-country from 2008-2011. During her senior year in cross-country, she earned All-PAC-12 First Team, all-region, and All-America honors. She helped the Buffs win the inaugural PAC-12 title, tie for first place in the regional championships, and place 11th at NCAA National Cross-Country Championships. Her 20th place finish over the six-kilometer distance at the NCAA national cross-country championships contributed to her team's 11th-place finish, as she was Colorado's second place runner in the event. Coburn joined the track team in 2009 when she tried a number of disciplines before eventually concentrating on the steeplechase. She qualified for the NCAA Championships at Fayetteville in the event advancing to the final after running a then personal record (PR) of 10:06.21, which also doubled as the USA Junior record in the event. In the final, she ran 10:22.58 to finished 11th to cap off her first season. In 2010, Coburn won the

PAC-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

steeplechase title as a sophomore and finished second in the

NCAA championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

. In 2011, as a junior, Coburn won both the PAC-12 indoor 3000-meters title and the PAC-12 3000-meters steeplechase title. She then went on to capture the NCAA 3000-meters steeplechase title. She also won the 2011 USA outdoor title in the steeplechase and made the US steeplechase team for the 2011

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, finishing 12th in the final. In 2012, Coburn did not compete for her collegiate team. She was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

and competed in track events as an unattached athlete so she could focus on the US Olympic Trials. 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. The time was a 12-second PR (personal record) for Coburn. She qualified for the 2012 London Olympic Games in the 3000-meters steeplechase, joined in the event by her University of Colorado teammate, Shalaya Kipp. At age 21, Coburn was the youngest runner on the 2012 US Olympic team. In her Olympic debut, she placed third in her preliminary heat with a time of 9:27.51, automatically qualifying for the final. She came in ninth in the final, with a time of 9:23.54 – a then personal best. In 2013, Coburn returned to the University of Colorado as a fifth-year senior. She was named the PAC-12 Track Athlete of the Week on April 30, 2013, after recording the best 3000-meters steeplechase time in the world for the season. On June 8, 2013, at the NCAA Championships at

Hayward Field Hayward Field is a track and field stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. It has been the home of the university's track and field teams since 1921, and was the on-campus ho ...

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, Coburn ran the final race of her career where she would claim her second NCAA steeplechase title with a winning time of 9:35.38, finishing three seconds ahead of Florida State's

Colleen Quigley Colleen Quigley (born November 20, 1992) is an American middle-distance runner, steeplechase specialist and an Olympian from St. Louis, Missouri. She is the current World Record holder in the 4x1500 meters relay (set July 31, 2020). Competing in ...

Professional career

2013

Following the completion of her collegiate career, Coburn announced that she was becoming a professional runner and, in June 2013, signed a contract with

New Balance New Balance Athletics, Inc. (NB), best known as simply New Balance, is one of the world's major sports footwear and apparel manufacturers. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the multinational corporation was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch ...

. Shortly after, she announced that she had a sacral stress fracture that would cause her miss the 2013 Moscow World Championships and require her to sit out the 2013 professional track season. The injury occurred during her final collegiate race.

2014

In 2014, Coburn improved her 3000-meters steeplechase best four times. On May 18, at the

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

meeting, she ran 9:19.81, earning her first Diamond League victory, before improving to 9:17.84 for third at the

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic, an Oregon Track Club event, is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States, held in Eugene, Oregon. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at Hayward Field on the campus of the University o ...

in Eugene which was held on May 31. Four weeks later, Coburn ran 9:19.72 to win her third US title in Sacramento. On July 5, at the

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Diamond League, she ran a 9:14.12 for a second-place finish. This moved her to second on the US all-time list behind

Jenny Simpson Jennifer Simpson (née Barringer; born August 23, 1986) is an American middle distance runner and steeplechaser. She represented the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics. She is a former Americ ...

. One week later, on July 12 at the

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Diamond League in 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 Hiwot Ayalew Yimer (Amharic: ህይወት ፡ አያሌው ; born 6 March 1990) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner whose speciality is the 3000 metres steeplechase. She represented Ethiopia in the event at the 2012 Summer Olympi ...

. After that she ran two Diamond Discipline events finishing fifth in Stockholm in 9:20.31 and fifth in Zurich in 9:23.89. On September 14, Coburn topped off her most successful steeplechase season to-date winning the

IAAF Continental Cup The IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field competition organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The event was proposed by IAAF former President Primo Nebiolo and was first held in 1977 as t ...

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...

, Morocco where she finished ahead of Ayalew, the world's number one steeplechase runner in 2014. Bahrain's

Ruth Jebet Ruth Jebet (born 17 November 1996) is a Kenyan-born long-distance runner and steeplechase specialist who competes internationally for Bahrain. She was the world record holder and was the 2016 Olympic gold medalist in the 3000 metres steeplechase, ...

finished third.

2015

In 2015, Coburn's indoor mile ranked 28th in the world. Coburn ran an Olympic qualifying time (1500m) of 4:05.1 in

, at the Prefontaine meet in May. She won the steeplechase at the USATF Championships to qualify for the

2015 World Championships in Athletics The 2015 IAAF World Championships ( zh, 第十五届世界田径锦标赛), the fifteenth edition of the IAAF World Championships, were held from 22 to 30 August at the National Stadium in Beijing, China. Forty-three nations won medals, 144 of ...

, where she placed fifth.

2016: Rio Olympic bronze medalist

In 2016, Coburn opened her outdoor season running 4:06.92 in the 1500 meters at

Hoka One One Hoka One One (stylized as HOKA) is an athletic shoe company originating in Annecy, France that designs and markets running shoes. The brand first gained attention in the running industry by producing shoes with oversized outsoles, dubbed "maximal ...

Middle Distance Classic hosted at

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...

. She set a new American record shortly thereafter at the

in Eugene, where she ran 9:10.76 in the 3000 meters steeplechase. Coburn broke the American record for the 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. On December 2, 2016, Coburn announced on her Twitter account that she was ending training with coaches Heather Burroughs and

Mark Wetmore Mark Wetmore (born June 29, 1953) is an American cross country and track coach who specializes in middle-distance and long-distance running. He began his collegiate coaching career when he was accepted as a volunteer assistant coach at the Univer ...

after "an amazing 8 years." She later began coaching under Joe Bashaard, her then-fiancé.

2017: World champion

In January, Coburn, along with

Sydney McLaughlin Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (, born August 7, 1999) is an American hurdler and sprinter who competes in the 400 meters hurdles. She is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion with the Games record, and 2022 World champion with a world record time of 50 ...

Brenda Martinez Brenda Martinez (born September 8, 1987) is an American middle-distance runner and Olympian. Born in Upland, California, she won a silver medal in the 800 meters at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Moscow and finished first in the ...

, and

set a world-best time of 10:40.31 in the Distance Medley Relay (DMR) at the 2017 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix at Boston's Reggie Lewis Center. Although news accounts reported it as" breaking a world record," the DMR was not recognized for world record sanctioning in 2017 by

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

because it was run on an indoor, banked track, rather than outdoors. Nevertheless, it was a remarkable feat with the US track community continuing to acknowledge it as a world record. Coburn ran the opening leg (1200m, 3:18.40), followed by Powell (400m, 52.32), then Martinez (800m, 2:01.94), with Simpson anchoring the team (1600m, 4:27.66). The previous best of 10:42.57 was run at this meeting in 2015 by the American team of Sarah Brown, Mahogany Jones, Megan Krumpoch, and Brenda Martinez. On May 5, 2017, Coburn opened her outdoor season at the

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

, racing the steeplechase in 9:14 to place fifth. 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. Four of the

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

n-born women she beat in that race, including Olympic champion/world record holder

had previously run faster than Coburn.

Courtney Frerichs Courtney Frerichs (born January 18, 1993) is an American middle-distance runner and steeplechase specialist from Nixa, Missouri, She is a three-time silver medalist in the 3000 meters steeplechase capturing silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Game ...

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. In November 2017, Coburn was named the winner of the prestigious

Jackie Joyner-Kersee Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, 1962) is a retired American track and field athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the heptathlon as well as long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals in tho ...

Award given annually by USATF to the top female athlete of the year, their highest accolade.

2018

In January 2018, Coburn opened her indoor season at

Western State Colorado University Western Colorado University (Western) is a public university in Gunnison, Colorado. It enrolls approximately 2,600 undergraduate and 400 graduate students, with 25 percent coming from out of state. Western offers more than 100 undergraduate areas ...

, where she ran a then

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

state record mile (at 7717 feet elevation) (since broken by

Dani Jones Danielle "Dani" Jones (born August 21, 1996) is an American middle-distance runner. She is a four-time NCAA Division I champion winning two gold medals at the 2017 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships in the 3000-meters and Indoo ...

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 The Millrose Games is an annual indoor athletics meet (track and field) held each February in New York City. They started taking place at the Armory in Washington Heights in 2012, after having taken place in Madison Square Garden from 1914 to 2011 ...

in 8:41.16, a runner-up finish to teammate

Aisha Praught-Leer Aisha Praught-Leer (born 14 December 1989 in Moline, Illinois) is a middle-distance runner from Illinois competing for Jamaica. She attended Woodrow Wilson Middle School and Moline High School. Praught competed in Athletics at the 2016 Summer O ...

who ran 8:41.10, and then at the

New Balance Indoor Grand Prix The New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, formerly known as the Boston Indoor Games, is an annual indoor track and field meet which is held in late January or early February at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center. It was first held in Roxbury, a ...

on February 10, 2018, at the

Reggie Lewis Center The Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center (RLTAC) is an indoor track and indoor basketball stadium in Roxbury, Massachusetts, partially funded by the state of Massachusetts. It is home to numerous Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Associat ...

where her time of 8:43.57 placed fourth. Coburn finished 3rd in the 3000 meters at the 2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships behind winner

Shelby Houlihan Shelby Houlihan (born February 8, 1993) is an American middle distance runner, Olympian and World Record holder in the 4x1500m relay who is currently serving a ban. Houlihan competed in the 5000m final at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, finishing ...

and runner-up Katie Mackey.

2019: World silver medalist

On June 30, 2019, she ran 9:04.90 to place second behind world record-holder

Beatrice Chepkoech Beatrice Chepkoech Sitonik (born 6 July 1991)Beatrice Chepkoech

Prefontaine Classic held in

Stanford, California Stanford is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the home of Stanford University. The population was 21,150 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. Stanford is ...

. On July 28, Coburn ran 9:25.63 for first at the USATF Championships. Since she was the defending World Champion from 2017, she already was an automatic qualifier for the 2019 World Championships. Second was the U.S. record-holder

, who ran 9:26.61, and also qualified to run in

, Qatar in September. At the Worlds, Coburn won the silver medal with a personal record of 9:02.35 while Frerichs finished sixth.

2020

Coburn opened her 2020 season on January 25 at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, finishing third in the two-mile race in 9:32.81. At the same event she also ran in a 3000-meters split-time event posting a time of 8:56.60. In March, Coburn finished fourth with a time of 1:25:37 at the

Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente (; KP), commonly known simply as Kaiser, is an American integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield. Kaiser P ...

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

2021

In June 2021 Coburn qualified for her third Olympic Games by finishing first in the 3000 meters steeplechase at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, OR with a winning time of 9:09:41. At the postponed Tokyo Olympics she placed 14th in the final held on August 4, 2021; however, on the bell lap she clipped a barrier causing her to tumble off the track. She was later disqualified for touching the track's delimiting railing when she fell.

2022

During June 24-26th she competed in the steeplechase at the USATF Championship where she ran 9:10.63 finishing first and capturing her 10th national title. During a post-race interview Coburn became emotional when asked to reflect upon which national championship was her favorite. Coburn stated that perhaps the 10th title is her most favorite because it made up for a deeply disappointing performance at the Tokyo Olympic Games and because she was unsure how many more races she would be able to enjoy with her mother, who has been battling cancer. From July 16-20th, Coburn competed in her fifth

World Athletics Championships The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

held in Eugene, Oregon, finishing eighth in the 3000-meters steeplechase final in 9:16.49. Following the World Championships, in August and September, she ran three Diamond Discipline steeplechase events. She finished fourth in Monaco posting a time of 9:07.93; eighth in Brussels with a run of 9:14.43; and seventh in Zürich final with a time of 9:20.00. On September 11, 2022, the 31-year-old ran in the New Balance 5th Avenue Mile in New York City finishing in 4:22.8, placing her 10th amongst the women professional runners, first in her age category (31-34) and 59th overall (both men and women). Great Britain's

Laura Muir Laura Muir (born 9 May 1993) is a Scottish middle- and long-distance runner. She is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medallist in the 1500 metres, having previously finished seventh in the event at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Muir won the bronze meda ...

ran 4:14.8 to capture the win.

2023

On February 4, Coburn opened her 2023 season competing in the women's mile at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix. Starting in the outside alley, she finished seventh with a personal best time of 4:28.84, eclipsing her previous best of 4:29.86 which she set during her collegiate career in 2013. Coburn also posted an indoor personal best for the 1500 meters with her split of 4:10.39 en route. On February 18, she joined Team USA and traveled to Bathurst, Australia to participate in the World Cross Country Championships. Coburn, along with Alec Basten, Jordan Mann, and Heather MacLean formed Team USA's mixed relay team, which finished fifth in 24:32. Coburn ran the second leg in the race and improved Team USA's overall position from tenth to fifth position by finishing her leg in 6:13. It was the first time since college that Coburn ran in a team event. The race was won by Team Kenya in 23:14, with Ethiopia taking silver in 23:21 and Australia earning the bronze medal in 23:26. While still in Australia, on February 23, Coburn competed in the 1500 m at the Maurie Plant Meet – Melbourne, where she ran a 4:10.96 to finish fifth.

Achievements

All sourced from

profile unless otherwise noted. As of February 4, 2023.

International competitions

National championships

Personal bests

Season bests

Personal life

In October 2017, Coburn married coach Joe Bosshard. Together, the couple organized the annual Elk Run 5k, a fundraising effort for the Crested Butte

Cancer Support Community The Cancer Support Community (CSC) focuses on three areas of support: direct service delivery, research, and advocacy. The organization includes an international network of Affiliates that offer social and emotional support for people impacted by c ...

References

External links

* * *
Emma Coburn at All-Athletics
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coburn, Emma Living people 1990 births American female middle-distance runners American female steeplechase runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Boulder, Colorado Colorado Buffaloes women's track and field athletes Colorado Buffaloes women's cross country runners World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners Track and field athletes from Colorado University of Colorado Boulder alumni USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners IAAF Continental Cup winners 20th-century American women 21st-century American women