Paris Olympic dreams crushed for 3-time Olympian Emma Coburn after severe ankle injury at the Shanghai Diamond League 2024

Three-time Olympian Emma Coburn will not be a part of the 2024 US Olympic trials after suffering a major injury in her ankle at the Shanghai Diamond League last weekend during the water jump.

Coburn is a 3000 meters steeplechase phenom and has bagged multiple feats in the category. She is the first American woman to grab a medal in an Olympic steeplechase event. Coburn nabbed a bronze at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio by clocking a time of 9:07.63.

However, this year's Paris Olympics dreams for the Olympic bronze medalist have come to an end after she broke her ankle. She announced her withdrawal on her Instagram account. She shared a video of herself falling and sustaining the injury while running the race.

She also showcased the detailed situation of her swollen and broken ankle. The heartbreaking announcement was made in her caption. After falling at the event, she is suffering from torn ligaments, damaged cartilage, and a fracture in her medial malleolus.

However, she has undergone surgery and has gotten a screw fixed in her ankle.

"I don't really know what to say.. I broke my ankle on the water jump in Shanghai. At first I thought I just sprained it, even though the pain was pretty intense. When I got home, images showed torn ligaments, damaged cartilage, and a fracture in my medial malleolus."

Emma Coburn further added:

"I had surgery yesterday and got a screw in my ankle for the fracture and got the cartilage cleaned up. If all goes well, I can start jogging again in 6 weeks."

With this update, she added the heartbreaking news of pulling out from the US Olympic trials which eventually led to the end of her Paris Olympics dreams.

"That means I’m out for the Olympic Trials. The dream of Paris is over. There has been a *lot* of heartbreak in the last couple years for me, but damn, I love this sport and nothing heals a broken heart like working hard and getting back. See ya out there later this year."

Emma Coburn's disappointing 2020 Tokyo Olympics

The American middle-distance runner, Emma Coburn, also faced a heartbreaking fate during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. After reaching the Tokyo steeplechase final, Coburn had her sight set on clinching gold. She was delivering a terrific performance until the last lap of the run.

Emma Coburn tripped on a hurdle and went to the 14th position with a time of 9:14.50. The Olympian was then later disqualified for stepping on or inside the rail. She expressed disappointment after the incident in a conversation with the Runner's World.

"I was begging my legs to move faster, Coburn stated. I was doing all the things I could, and it was just shutting down. Obviously, it was not what I had trained five years to achieve, but it happened."

However, after this setback, Emma Coburn made a comeback at the USATF Outdoor Track and Field Championships. On June 26, she claimed her 10th national title and was selected to be the face of Team USA at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.