Courtney Frerichs is back in the Olympics.
The UMKC and Nixa alum qualified for her second straight Olympics in her signature event, the 3,000-meter steeplechase, late Thursday at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon. The American record-holder in the event finished second behind winner Emma Coburn with a time of 9:11.79, clinching a trip to next month’s Tokyo Olympics based on her top-three finish and beating the Olympic standard of 9:30.
It marked a crowning achievement for Frerichs after a hairy preliminary round, when she fell mid-race yet still recovered to make the final. She led for most of Thursday’s race after rocketing to the lead from the start. Despite Coburn passing her on the backstretch with two laps left, Frerichs was well ahead of any danger and ultimately finished nearly 12 seconds ahead of fourth place.
Frerichs also qualified in the same event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, finishing 11th. Her time Thursday was her season’s best and the sixth-best overall time in the world this year.
In a brief post-race interview with NBC, Frerichs took some time to remark on the absence of Bowerman Track Club teammate Shelby Houlihan, who was hit with a four-year doping ban just days before the trials after testing positive for a banned substance in December. Houlihan is the American record-holder in both the women’s 1,500 and 5,000 meters.
“I’m so excited,” Frerichs said. “To make one Olympic team is amazing, to make two is an absolute dream come true. I just tried to run as tough as I could and really show up for Shelby, who it’s been really hard that she’s not here with me. We’ve been on every team together, I’m going to try to be really strong for her this year.”
Frerichs had a decorated four-year career at UMKC, winning a total of 11 conference championships and placing as high as second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Championships her senior year. She then spent a year at New Mexico, where she won the national championship in the same event in a collegiate-record time of 9:24.41.