EUGENE, Ore. — Emma Coburn waited patiently in the middle of the women’s steeplechase final on Thursday night, near the front, letting other runners take the lead and keep an honest pace as rain fell under the lights at historic Hayward Field here.
With two-thirds of the 3,000-meter race gone, she moved to the front and gradually applied further pressure, extending her lead with every stride over a 14-woman field that, despite its clear improvement over the one at the trials four years ago, didn’t have an athlete that could remotely challenge the 25-year-old Crested Butte native.
“I wanted to make as definitive of a move as I could,” said Coburn, a former distance standout for the University of Colorado. “Any athlete will tell you that when you take a lead, you better hold on to it. Once I took the lead, I was kicking and holding it.”
And she held on, winning in 9 minutes, 17.48 seconds, securing her second straight spot on the U.S. Olympic team. The time was slower at the Prefontaine Classic, but still the ninth fastest time in the world this year and the largest margin of victory ever at the trials in the event. She told reporters afterward that she’s in the best shape of her career — with room to go even faster.
Her tactics showcased the maturity she’s gained as an athlete after a few seasons of racing at an elite level. She didn’t jump to the lead and string out the field, as she could have easily done.
“She knew what she was doing,” her coach, Mark Wetmore, told The Denver Post. “She evaluated her opponents carefully, had a race plan and then pretty much executed it exactly. You saw a professional.”
There is no event with more potential drama in track and field than the steeplechase. Even with a comfortable lead, one wrong move over a barrier can knock an athlete out of a race, dashing Olympic dreams.
The drama unfolded behind Coburn, where Stephanie Garcia — who set the early pace — battled with Courtney Frerichs and Colleen Quigley of the Bowerman Track Club for the last two spots on the team. After the last water jump, Frerichs and Quigley surged around Garcia, who crashed to the ground after her trail leg hit the final barrier. Frerichs finished second in 9:20.92 and Quigley — the defending NCAA champ and collegiate record holder in the event — was third in 9:21.29. Both are first-time Olympians.
Garcia’s tumble opened the door for Shalaya Kipp, one of Coburn’s training partners, who was then sitting in fifth. She nipped Garcia at the line for fourth, setting a seven-second personal best in the process.
Four years ago, Kipp was third at the trials, qualifying with Coburn for the London Olympics. Her time of 9:28.72 on Thursday night would have won this race at the 2012 trials, a testament to how much competition among the American women’s field has improved in a short time.
“She was excellent,” Wetmore said. “She was excellent two days ago (in the qualifiers). She was very in charge — very courageous and confident.”
Kipp is now a graduate student at the University of Colorado studying physiology. She appeared visibly upset after crossing the line, the first person left off Team USA. But her performance exceeded expectations, given that she was forced to pull back earlier this season after suffering from fatigue.
“I was happy to get to fourth, but fourth actually (stinks) at this meet,” she said. “I should be happy with it. It’s a season’s best, and training’s going the right way.”
For Coburn, the latest in a long line of great steeplechasers trained under Wetmore and coach Heather Burroughs, the possibility of this victory seemed remote as recently as early January. Coburn wasn’t running, dealing with an Achilles injury she had suffered a year before that was persistently bothering her. Despite time off and rest, there was no sign it was healing. In the fall, she could barely string together a few days of training before she was forced to stop running and crosstrain.
“She had a number of little interruptions going all the way back to September,” Wetmore said. “No one big problem. But a lot of little things. Her winter was definitely compromised.”
By late January, she was healthy and gained her fitness back quickly. Now, as she looks ahead to the Rio Olympics, she will be in the mix to medal in the event as a top contender on the international circuit.
“It feels just as happy, just as big,” Coburn said, comparing the moment to making the team for the first time in 2012 as a 21-year-old, then the youngest runner on Team USA. “It feels great, and it’s been a lot of hard work to get here.”
Coburn is the third-ranked runner in the event in the world this year, her two biggest challengers being Ruth Jebet, a Kenyan-born runner representing Bahrain, and Hyvin Kiyeng of Kenya — both of whom beat her at the Prefontaine Meet. Combined, they hold five marks this season that are faster than Coburn’s 9:10.76 American record.
“I don’t think anyone is unbeatable, especially in a championship race,” Coburn said. “The top two women of the year have challenged a world record. One good thing is that they seem to be aggressive racers and don’t mind pushing the pace. I’ll be chasing them and trying to run them down.”
