Emma Coburn inducted into CU Hall of Fame

Sights set on 2024 Summer Olympics

By Than Acuff 

Add another accolade to a long list of athletic accomplishments for locally raised athlete Emma Coburn as last weekend she was inducted into the CU Athletic Hall of Fame.

Coburn grew up in Crested Butte competing as a Titan through all four years of high school in a variety of sports before turning her attention to the 3000-meter steeplechase as an athlete for the University of Colorado.

Between her first year at CU and now, Coburn has racked up numerous awards in the steeplechase including, but not limited to, 10 National titles, winning the World Championships in 2017 and taking silver in 2019 and becoming the first U.S. woman to win an Olympic medal in the steeplechase when she took bronze at the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Coburn is a professional athlete for New Balance.

Now she is a CU Hall of Famer.

“I got a call this summer telling me I was going to be inducted,” says Coburn. “It was last weekend and it was a fun weekend. I had friends from high school, friends from college and friends from after college all there with me.”

Coburn jokes she’s not too psyched with the photo they picked but is honored to be among other CU greats.

“It’s my freshman roster photo and really embarrassing and now that’s on the wall forever,” says Coburn. “It’s cool to see my picture on the wall and special to be up there with so many other great athletes.” 

It was a bright spot in what has been a tough 2023 year for Coburn. Unbeknownst to her, her hamstring was slowly tearing as she continued to compete until it finally gave out when she raced in the World Championships in August.

Rest, rehabilitation and recovery has Coburn back on track but not on the track as she will continue her workouts but without competing during the upcoming indoor track season.

“I took a lot of time off and now I’m back to cross-training two to four hours a day and running 8-10 miles a day,” says Coburn. “I’m definitely putting in a lot of hours and I’m feeling really good and really healthy.”

Coburn plans to step back into competition in May of 2024 when she returns to the professional Diamond League race circuit with one goal in mind.

“The whole purpose of 2024 is to try and make the Paris Olympic team,” says Coburn. “I still got a ways to get strong and healthy.”