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Emma Coburn delivered an inspiring speech at the University of Colorado Boulder's commencement ceremony. Coburn was in the running to qualify for the Paris Olympics, but a string of injuries forced her to miss the US trials.
Coburn, a steeplechase specialist, etched her name in history after winning gold at the 2017 World Championships, the first American to achieve that feat since 1952. She made the Olympic team in 2012, 2016, and 2021 and even won bronze in the 3000m steeplechase at the Rio edition.
She also boasted an impressive collegiate career, winning one indoor mile title and two steeplechase titles at the NCAA level. Now enjoying track downtime, Emma Coburn returned to her alma mater after receiving a special honor. She inspired the graduating class of 2025 with her speech as she delivered the commencement address on May 8, 2025.
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In her speech, she talked about her journey and said:
"I was a dreamer. I was always the doer. That is how I closed the gap, by doing. Not with one giant leap, but with a million small steps. Win at the things that don't require talent. You don't need talent to show up early, to be kind, to take feedback, to stay consistent. Those are choices, not gifts. Control what you can, let go of what you can't. When you focus on what you can control, you get stronger. When you obsess over what you can't, you get stuck."
She added:
"You will fail. You will fail at things you thought you would conquer, and that's okay. It happens to all of us. You will fall too, at work, in love, in life. It's not a matter of if, but when. So build your resilience now. Stack your capacity now. Learn how to rise. Victory isn't the absence of failure, it's the ability to move through it."
Coburn also has 10 US National Champion titles to her name, the last of which came in 2022 at the USATF Championships.
Emma Coburn made her feelings known about the injury she sustained at the 2024 Shanghai Diamond League
Emma Coburn suffered a hamstring injury at the 2023 USATF Championships, ending her title-winning bid. She still competed at the World Championships that year, but finished 28th, missing a spot in the final roster.
At the 2024 Shanghai Diamond League, Coburn injured a cartilage, sustained torn ligaments, and fractured her medial malleolus. After the heartbreak, the 34-year-old shared a post on X, expressing her disappointment, saying:
"Dang it. Tweaked my ankle on a water jump with 1k to go. Had to DNF. I’ll be okay, just a disappointing return to racing after ending last season with my hamstring injury.”
Emma Coburn also won the 3000m steeplechase title at the IAAF Continental Cup in 2014.
