Courtney Frerichs, a 2016 Olympian and 2017 world championships silver medalist, had the performance of her young career on Friday in Monaco, finishing in 9:00.85 to set the 3,000-meter steeplechase American record.
“I was trying to not pay too close attention to the splits. I knew if I was competitive and tried my best to win or be up in the top, I’d be close,” Frerichs said during a postrace interview. “With 300 to go, I really thought I was going to dip under [nine minutes], but I think I was just running so fast I felt like a little out of control. And so there are some things I need to keep working on. But I’m really happy with how I executed today.”
Despite running the fastest time in U.S. history, Frerichs, 25, placed second by more than 16 seconds behind Beatrice Chepkoech of Kenya, who set an astounding world record of 8:44.32. The previous world mark was 8:52.78 and belonged to Ruth Jebet, a Kenyan who competes for Bahrain and is facing a suspension after testing positive for EPO, a performance-enhancing drug.
It was the first time Frerichs beat fellow U.S. steeplechaser Emma Coburn, who held the national record of 9:02.58 until Friday. Coburn, the reigning world champion and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, placed fourth in 9:05.06.
The time makes Frerichs the sixth-fastest ever in the women’s steeplechase. Her previous best was 9:03.77, which she ran at the world championships in 2017. She lives in Portland, Oregon, where she trains with the Bowerman Track Club.
Evan Jager’s quest to break the eight-minute barrier in the men’s steeple came up just short on Friday. The 2016 Olympic silver medalist placed second in 8:01.02. It was the second-fastest steeple of Jager’s career—he ran 8:00.45, the American record, in 2015. He is also a member of the Bowerman Track Club.
