By Romaine Soh
Just months ago, Colleen Quigley was in the pool with her Bowerman Track Club teammates Emily Infeld and Shelby Houlihan, doubting everything. Quigley had been dealing with a hamstring injury all of last year, and whenever she tried to return to running, her body was not ready, and she would have to take another month off.
“I taught myself how to swim this fall,” said the 2015 NCAA champion. “I was running out of cross-training options and I was getting bored.”
Fast forward to July 7, and Quigley was racing her second steeplechase of the season to make her first Olympic team at the U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials.
Emma Coburn won the race in 9 minutes, 17.48 seconds to make her second Olympic team, adding a fifth national title to her collection and setting a new Olympic trials meet record in the process. Quigley’s teammate, Courtney Frerichs, posted a PR of 9:20.92 to place second.
And Quigley ran a PR of 9:21.29 to place third and make her first Olympic team.
In April 2015, Quigley, a retired model, sustained a hamstring injury that felt similar to a strain. Despite that, she placed third at last year’s national championships to make her first IAAF World Outdoor Championships team. Not wanting to pass up the opportunity of representing the U.S. on the world stage, she decided to tough it out, but this worsened her injury. She then took the whole of fall and winter to treat her injury.
“I feel like I’ve missed a lot of time, but I didn’t waste all that time,” said Quigley, who spent most of her season cross-training in the pool, on the elliptical and on a reduced gravity treadmill.
Initially, Stephanie Garcia and Ashley Higginson took turns as the pace-setter. With 1 kilometer to go, Coburn took charge of the race and raced away from everyone to win the race in a convincing fashion.
“Any athlete will tell you, ‘Once you take the lead, you better be willing to hold it and fight for it,’” said Coburn. “Once I took the lead, I was kicking.”
Frerichs and Quigley are new faces on the steeplechase team the U.S. is fielding at the Olympics this year. At the last trials, the bronze time was 9:35.73. This year, it was 9:21.29.
“I don’t think these women need any lessons from me,” said Coburn. “Colleen has been at a world championship before. Courtney is the NCAA record holder. I think the three of us – along with the girls who didn’t make the Olympic team today – have more confidence in our race ability as steeplechasers on the international level.”
At the final water jump, the Bowerman ladies kicked it into high gear and closed in fast on Garcia. Garcia, feeling the pressure, tried to dip into her reserve energy to avoid the dreaded fourth place, but her trail leg clipped the final land barrier and sent her tumbling. Any hopes of making the Rio team were dashed.
“This is the most talented field of steeplechasers I’ve ever seen,” said Garcia, who eventually finished fifth. “I felt like I was ready for a PR.”
Coburn’s teammate, Shalaya Kipp, ran a PR of 9:28.72, but it was not enough to make her second Olympic team. Despite that, she was extremely happy for Coburn.
“She’s like my sister,” said Kipp. “I love her to death.”
