Former CU Buff Emma Coburn finishes eighth in fast steeplechase final at World Championships

Jul. 20—Emma Coburn put in a valiant bid for her third steeplechase world championship for about half of Wednesday's race. But the torrid pace of the final half proved too much to overcome.

Coburn, the former Colorado star who won her 10th US steeplechase championship last month, was aiming for her second world championship at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field. But that bid was thwarted by a victory from Norah Jeruto from Kazakhstan in a meet record time of 8 minutes, 53.02 seconds.

Coburn kept pace with the lead pack for about the first half of the race before the top four pulled well ahead of the field. Coburn ultimately finished eighth in 9:16.49. US record-holder Courtney Frerichs was the top American, finishing sixth in 9:10.59.

Former CU runner Gabby Scott, competing for Puerto Rico, saw her meet come to an end in the semifinals of the 400 meter dash. Scott advanced out of the opening round on Sunday with a time of 52.05 and improved that mark slightly on Wednesday, finishing in 51.97. But she finished seventh in the second heat and was well off the pace for an at-large berth for the final.

One year after winning a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Longmont native and Silver Creek graduate Valarie Allman finished third in the discus with a top throw of 68.30 meters. She became the first American woman to earn a medal in the discus at the world championships.

Another local, former Niwot eight-time state champ and Stanford standout Elise Cranny, advanced through the semifinals of the 5,000 meter run. Cranny finished fifth in the second heat and seventh overall in 14:53.20. She will compete in the 5K final on Saturday at 7:25 p.m. MT.