For her first few nights here, American steeplechaser Emma Coburn stayed in the same apartment as teammate Jenny Simpson, one of the USA’s medal hopefuls in the 1,500 meters.
But she could never get the air-conditioning just right — Coburn wanted it frigid, but the unit wouldn’t cooperate.
So she adapted. On Sunday night, Coburn left her apartment and moved into a hotel. Mission accomplished: She dropped the dial to freezing, slipped to sleep and got the rest she needed in advance of the women’s 3,000 steeplechase final.
The ability to change course on the fly came in handy during what the USA’s Colleen Quigley called “a weird race,” one that ended with Coburn earning bronze to become the first American female to medal in the event.
“I feel so lucky that that’s part of my story,” Coburn said.
Ruth Jebet of Bahrain dominated the field to win gold (8:59.75 seconds) in a time just more than a second off the world record. Kenya’s Hyvin Jepkemoi (9:07.12) took silver, and Coburn’s time (9:07.63) set an American record.
The event started slow before catching steam during the last five laps. Typically, Coburn said, she prefers to slowly close any gap between herself and the head of the pack; on Monday, however, the gap opened quickly once Jebet pulled into the lead. Coburn sprinted ahead of Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech to move into third.
It’s mine to lose now, Coburn told herself, so don’t give this up. She wouldn’t, finishing more than nine seconds ahead of the fourth-place finisher.
Lying on her back in post-race agony after finishing eighth, Quigley looked up at the scoreboard to see Coburn’s name among the medalists and felt revived.
“It was definitely a silver lining — a bronze lining,” said Quigley, whose time of 9:21.10 was a personal best. “I just felt really happy that it was able to happen for an American. It wasn’t me, but I was almost as happy.”
Added the USA’s Courtney Frerichs, who finished 11th, “It’s slightly bittersweet. But I was pushing everything. I knew I laid it out there.”
The steeplechase has been held at the Summer Games on the men’s side since 1920, and five American men have medals. But the women's race wasn't added to the program until the 2008 Beijing Games.
The USA has gained ground on Kenya and Ethiopia, the two most dominant countries in distance events. And after Coburn’s bronze — and after a very heated series of qualifiers at the U.S. team trials last month — there is reason to believe the country is poised to make an even greater mark in international competition during the four years leading into the 2020 Tokyo Games.
“I feel like we have such great talent,” Coburn said. “I really think the next four, eight, 12 years we’re going to have more and more women winning medals.”
ALSO: All three Americans advanced to the final of the men's steeplechase, as well: Evan Jager, Hilary Bor and Donn Cabral.
