After breaking her ankle during competition in Shanghai last month, American steeplechase competitor Emma Coburn announced that her "dream" of participating at the Olympics in Paris this year is gone.
 
Bronze medallist Coburn from the 2016 Rio Olympics was forced to withdraw from the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Diamond League event in China after landing heavily after a water jump.
 
She shattered her ankle during the landing, she claimed in an Instagram post on Thursday. She had surgery, which involved cleaning the cartilage and inserting a screw into the joint.
Coburn declared, "That means I'm out for the Olympic Trials."
 
"The Parisian dream is over. I've experienced *a lot* of heartache over the last several years, but wow, I love this sport, and nothing makes you feel better than working hard and succeeding. I'll see you later this year. 
 
 Coburn claimed that the pain was "quite severe" even though she believed the ankle to be only sprained.
 
The 33-year-old said, "Images when I got home showed torn ligaments, damaged cartilage, and a fracture in my medial malleolus [a bone in the ankle]." She added that she may start running again in six weeks.

Coburn has two world championship medals, a gold from 2017 and a silver from 2019, in addition to her bronze from 2016. Later in the year, she hoped to compete in her fourth Olympics in Paris.

While the Paris Games start on July 26, the US Olympic trials are held in Eugene, Oregon, the following month.

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