LONDON —Emma Coburn achieved one of her goals in the Olympics steeplechase Monday night, setting a new personal best. And she finished ninth, a good result for an aspiring young steepler still in college making her debut on the Olympic stage.
But the Colorado Buffs runner and two-time U.S. champion got nipped in a dive at the line by Germany’s Gesa Felicitas Krause for eighth place, and that rankled Coburn just a little.
“I was happy to get a two-second PR,” Coburn said.
“I wish I maybe would have not gotten dived at the line. I wish I would have held my eighth-place position. But overall I’m happy. A personal record and finishing ninth in the Olympics is something I’m proud of, and I hope to use this and my experiences in the future to prepare myself to race these women and hopefully do better against them in the future, finish a little higher up.”
Yuliya Zaripova of Russia won the gold medal in nine minutes, 6.72 seconds. Coburn finished in 9:23.54. Habiba Ghribi of Tunisia claimed the silver medal and Sofia Assefa of Ethiopia the bronze.
John Meyer: 303-954-1616, jmeyer@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jmeyer26
