Emma Coburn made history Friday by becoming the first American woman to earn a gold medal in the steeplechase at a global competition. She covered 3,000 meters in a time of 9:02:58 in London at the IAAF World Championships.
In doing so, she became the first American, male or female, to cross the finish line first at a worlds event since 1952.
To sweeten the moment, fellow American Courtney Frerichs came in second place, taking 16 seconds off her personal best.
ONE-TWO!!!!! AMERICA!!!!! #London2017 pic.twitter.com/XhY0fWrlKf
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 11, 2017
Coburn’s sister, who unfortunately wasn’t able to attend the race, was just as excited, if not more, as you can see in this video.
When your sister becomes a world champion…
(via @Aric_vh) pic.twitter.com/mtmEdCSpyE
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 11, 2017
Here’s a clip of her win:
EMMA!!!!!!! @emmajcoburn 🏅 pic.twitter.com/BPLXDHpscR
— Shannon Bishop-Green (@shanniebg) August 11, 2017
In her post race interview, Coburn was “speechless,” but managed to get a few words out.
“I thought in a perfect day, I could sneak in for a medal, and Joe [her coach] kept telling me anything was possible, and kept reminding me of the hard workouts I’ve done; That I’ve been really healthy this year, and running well and training well,” she said. “I knew I had to have a perfect day to get on the podium…The whole race I just felt strong and controlled and powerful and waiting and waiting for it to feel bad, and it never did.”
Last summer, Coburn earned bronze to become the first U.S. woman to medal in the steeplechase at the Olympics.
What a day for American runners. What a day for a proud sister.