TOKYO, Japan — Track and field star Courtney Frerichs, of Portland, Ore., took home a silver medal in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday. This is her first Olympic medal.
Frerichs was born in Illinois, but currently lives in Portland and trains at the Bowerman Track Club.
At the start of the race, Frerichs broke away from the pack and led for much of the first half until the last 250-meters. She finished with a time of 9:04.79 and was outpaced by Peruth Chemutai of Uganda, who won gold with a time of 9:01.45. Hyvin Kiyeng of Kenya finished in 9:05:39 and won bronze.
One day before competing, Frerichs said on Twitter that she had been thinking about this day for a long time, and that she was "excited, fit, and ready to toe the line against a fantastic field."
Frerichs is the first American to score a silver medal in the steeplechase and the second to win a medal in the event. The first American medalist in the event was Emma Coburn, who earned bronze in Rio in 2016. This year, however, Coburn was disqualified from placing after she stumbled during a water jump in the final lap of competition.
Frerichs, a two-time Olympian, finished in 11th place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Olympic Games in Rio back in 2016. She was a silver medalist at the 2017 world championships in London.