Emma Coburn, who won a bronze medal in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, announced on Instagram on May 2 that she will miss the U.S. Olympic Trials in June.
She suffered a fracture in her medial malleolus, a small bone in the ankle, going over a water jump during her first steeplechase of the 2024 season, the Diamond League meet on April 27 in Shanghai, China.
According to Coburn’s post, she had surgery on May 1, and she will be able to resume jogging in 6 weeks if her recovery goes well. But she won’t be ready to compete in the Olympic Track Trials. The first round of the women’s steeplechase is on June 24.
Coburn, a 10-time U.S. champion in the steeple, has had unusual longevity in an event that is typically punishing on competitors’ bodies. She also won the 2017 world title.
The injury is the latest in a series of heartbreaks for Coburn, both on and off the track.
In 2021, at the Olympic Games in Tokyo (her third trip to the Games, after 2012 and 2016), Coburn had an uncharacteristic bad day in steeple final. She initially finished 14th, but she was ultimately disqualified for stepping inside the rail mid race.
In early 2023, Coburn’s mother, Annie, a fixture at all Coburn’s meets, Your First Marathon: 8 Tips from Fiona OKeeffe Marco M. Mantovani.
Injuries Will Keep Olympians From Games This Summer Sarah Lorge Butler at the U.S. championships, ending her streak of eight consecutive U.S. titles. At the World Championships in Budapest, Coburn went out in the first round after finishing 10th in her heat. She later said she had a hamstring injury, and she spent the rest of 2023 rehabbing the injury and preparing for an Olympic run in 2024.
“The dream of Paris is over,” she wrote.
Coburn is not the only Olympian to have season-ending surgery. Alicia Monson, a 2021 Olympian in the 10,000 meters, announced an injury in April. Out on a run, she felt what she described as a “crack” in her knee. It turned out to be a medial meniscus tear. The surgery requires a long recovery, Monson wrote on Instagram, and she, too, will miss the Olympic Trials.
She set the American records in the 5,000 meters (14:19.45) and 10,000 meters (30:03.82) in 2023.
Monson’s coach, Dathan Ritzenhein, wrote in a message to Runner’s World that Monson is facing a six-month recovery. She “could have looked at quicker fixes, but it would have led to significant problems down the road for her, so we committed to the long-term full recovery.”
He added, “It can be a brutal sport sometimes.”
A Part of Hearst Digital Media is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World Nutrition - Weight Loss, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
