Emma Coburn, the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist and 2017 World champion in the 3000m steeplechase, will miss June’s Olympic Trials and a potential bid for a fourth Games after breaking her right ankle last Saturday in her first race of 2024.
“I don’t really know what to say… i broke my ankle on the water jump in Shanghai,” was posted on her social media on Thursday. “At first I thought I just sprained it, even though the pain was pretty intense. When I got home, images showed torn ligaments, damaged cartilage, and a fracture in my medial malleolus. I had surgery yesterday and got a screw in my ankle for the fracture and got the cartilage cleaned up. If all goes well, I can start jogging again in 6 weeks.
“That means I’m out for the Olympic Trials. The dream of Paris is over. There has been a *lot* of heartbreak in the last couple years for me, but damn, I love this sport and nothing heals a broken heart like working hard and getting back. See ya out there later this year.”
Coburn, 33, became the first American woman to win an Olympic steeplechase medal when she took bronze at the 2016 Rio Games.
The next year, she became the first American woman to win a world championships medal in the event, leading a U.S. one-two with Courtney Frerichs.
Overall, Coburn owns 10 national titles in the steeple, including eight in a row from 2014 through 2022.
In 2023, she ran through a left hamstring injury at July’s USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships (finishing second) and August’s world championships (placing 10th in her first-round heat).
The Olympic Trials are June 21-30 in Eugene, Oregon, where the top three in most events make the team for the Paris Games.
Contenders in the women’s steeple include the Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Frerichs, 2023 U.S. champion Krissy Gear and Courtney Wayment, the top American at the 2023 Worlds in 15th place.