Emma Coburn

Emma Jane Coburn (born October 19, 1990) is an American middle-distance runner who specializes in the 3000-meters steeplechase.

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.

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.

Coburn attended the University of Colorado from 2008 to 2013 where she was a three-time NCAA champion, capturing two steeplechase titles and one indoor mile title.

She earned All-America honors six-times.

Coburn ran cross-country from 2008 to 2011.

During her senior year in cross-country, she earned All-PAC-12 First Team, all-region, and All-America honors.

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 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-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, finishing 12th in the final.

She is a three-time Olympian making the US team in 2012, 2016 and 2020.

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.

In 2012, Coburn did not compete for her collegiate team.

She was redshirted 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.

She also won the 2014 IAAF Continental Cup 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).

Coburn attended Crested Butte Community School.

She was a multi-sport athlete competing in cross-country, volleyball, basketball and track.

At the 2016 Olympic Games 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.

At the 2017 World Championships in London, 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.

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).