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Olympians Up Close

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Former CU Boulder track stars Jenny Simpson (Econ, PolSci’09) and Emma Coburn (Mktg’13) each won bronze medals during the 29th summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, burnishing CU’s decades-long Olympic legacy.

Three other CU alumni competed at Rio also: Jeremy Dodson (Soc’10) ran in the qualifying heat of the 200-meter race for Samoa, Flora Duffy (Soc’13) competed in the triathlon for Bermuda, finishing 8th, and Katerina Nash (A&S ex’03) placed fifth in mountain biking for the Czech Republic.

In all, nearly 90 CU Boulder alumni have competed in the Olympics to date. Eleven have won medals. 

Jenny Simpson 

  • Age: 29 at time of Rio Olympics 
  • Height: 5'5"
  • Weight: 118 
  • Hometown: Oviedo, Fla. 
  • At CU: Four NCAA track and field titles, three in steeplechase, one in indoor 3,000 meters. 

Medal: Bronze

  • Event: 1,500-meter race
  • Time: 4 min., 10.53 sec 

Prior Olympic appearances: 

  • 2008 Beijing 
  • 2012 London 

  • Where do you keep your medal: 
  • It's currently in a sock in my suitcase 
  • Who has worn your medal: 
  • Everyone I've taken photos with. Friends, family and fans 
  • Pre-race ritual: 
  • Braiding my hair 
  • Last meal eaten before Olympic medal race: 
  • Rice with grilled vegetables 
  • First meal after race: 
  • Black bean soup with wild rice and chicken (I cooked it myself at 2 a.m. in my apartment in Rio.)
  • No. pairs of running shoes brought to Rio: 
  • 9, including 3 pairs of spikes 
 

  • No. days between Olympic medal and next race: 
  • 11 
  • 1st 
  • American woman to medal in the 1,500-meter race 
  • Days off after medal race before next training session: 
  • 0 
  • Miles typically run per week: 
  • 80
  • Days off: 
  • 0
  • Hours slept night before medal race: 
  • 10 
"The last 100 meters, when I was running my guts out, that’s my favorite part of the race,” she told the Denver Post. “I love this sport. I love how competitive it is, I love how hard the 1,500 meters is."
 

Emma Coburn 

  • Age: 25 at time of Rio Olympics 
  • Height: 5'8"
  • Weight: 120
  • Hometown: Crested Butte, Colo. 
  • At CU: Three-time NCAA champion, twice in steeplechase, once in indoor mile. 

Medal: Bronze

  • Event: 3,000-meter steeplechase 
  • Time: 9 min., 7.63 sec 

Prior Olympic appearances: 

2012 London 

  • Where do you keep your medal: 
  • In my suitcase or my purse, because I've been traveling so much. Once I'm home I'll probably keep it on a bookshelf. 
  • Who has worn your medal: 
  • Hundreds of people. The day I won it I was letting every single stranger in Rio try it on and walk around with it. 
  • Pre-race ritual: 
  • The meal that I have is probably the most rigid part of my routine. 
  • Last meal eaten before Olympic medal race: 
  • Bagel with banana and peanut butter, the same meal I always eat three hours before the gun goes off.
  • First meal after race: 
  • Recovery bars. Probably cheesecake and a burger. 
  • No. pairs of running shoes brought to Rio: 
  • 2 spikes, 3 pairs training shoes 

  • No. days between Olympic medal and next race: 
  • 12 
  • 1st 
  • Olympic steeplechase medal for a U.S. woman; her time beat her own American record in the event. 
  • Days off after medal race before next training session: 
  • 0 
  • Miles typically run per week: 
  • 80
  • Days off: 
  • 0
  • Hours slept night before medal race: 
  • 8
"The last four or five laps were tough. I just kept on telling myself to keep chipping away at the gap and once I got my position, all I wanted to do was to hold it. It wasn’t until the last 400 or 600 meters when I realized that I had it and just couldn’t lose it." 
 
Sources: teamusa.org; the athletes; CU Boulder
 

See videos of Emma and Jenny: 

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UlJ1fkzvGA]

[video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KZCvX40-MQ]

[video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCzpi_IDKPI]

 

 

Photos by © Harry How/Getty Images

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