EUGENE, Ore. — Emma Coburn led the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase Monday with the top time in qualifiers to advance to Thursday’s final at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials.
The University of Colorado alumna and race favorite ran smoothly, well off her , set five weeks ago ago, finishing in 9 minutes, 35.28 seconds. She holds the No. 5 time in the world this year. But she doesn’t feel any more pressure than she did in 2012, when she was the youngest runner on the U.S. team.
“Any steepler will tell you that rounds still don’t really feel easy,” she said. “Itap a different effort from an all-out race, but we are still navigating barriers. But it felt as comfortable as any steeplechase can feel.”
And she appeared eager to leave the media tent to start her cooldown to begin focusing on Thursday night’s final, the prime-time event of the night.
“I’m excited to race on Thursday and get this show on the road,” Coburn said. “Within track, there’s big moments. There’s U.S. championships and big international races. But the Olympics are what the outside world cares about most, so I’m just excited, and I feel like it’s been a long four-year wait.”
Also qualifying was Shalaya Kipp, her former CU teammate and fellow Olympian at the 2012 London Olympics. Kipp, who signed with Oiselle two years ago and is now a graduate student studying physiology at CU, ran the sixth-fastest time in 9:38.01. Current CU sophomore Erin Clark ended her lengthy track season by running 10:00.85.
Air Force grad punches ticket to Rio in pole vault. Cale Simmons, who graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2012, finished second in the men’s pole vault to qualify for Rio, jumping 18 feet, 6 ½ inches (5.65 meters). Event-favorite Sam Kendricks won with a jump of 19-4¾ inches.
“I thought it would be something close to that,” Simmons said of whether he thought his height would be enough. “My coach and I decided that it was going to take first jump 70, and I guess we weren’t too far from that.”
Off days ahead. Athletes will be off Tuesday. On Wednesday, the hammer throw will be the lone event, beginning with women’s qualifying at 2 p.m. and finals at 4 p.m. Men’s hammer qualifying begins right after at 6 p.m. and ends with finals at 8 p.m. A full schedule resumes Thursday with finals in the women’s steeplechase, shot put and triple jump, in addition to other qualifiers.
