Southwest HIgh Grad Jamie Cheever Runs 2nd Fastest Steeplechase in the World

Southwest High School graduate Jamie Cheever is the second-fastest woman in the world this year in the 3,000-meter steeplechase after a stunning April 28, 2013 performance at a major race at Stanford University in California.

The Team USA Minnesota website described her achievement:

Team USA Minnesota's Jamie Cheever ran a personal best of 9:29.13 (previous was 9:51.42) in the 3000-meter steeplechase at the Payton Jordan Invitational and finished second in the race after 2012 Olympian Emma Coburn from Colorado, who ran 9:28.26.  Both women achieved the World 'A' standard in the steeple of 9:43 or better and are currently ranked #1 and #2 in the World in the event for 2013.

Cheever said Coburn "took off right away" in the race but that she stayed with the top chase group during the first four laps.  "I wanted to make sure I didn't die," she said.  "I was surprised at how well I felt, so with three-and-a-half laps to go, I went to the front of the pack and started to close the gap on Emma.  It was great to have her to chase but I couldn't quite get her.

Cheever paid tribute to people at Southwest in an interview at the Down the Backstretch website:

I want to thank the Minnesota running community for its support during all of my running career. I have had fantastic coaches growing up in Minnesota (Ben Zhao at Minneapolis Southwest High School and Gary Wilson at the University of Minnesota). I am am so lucky to be part of Team USA Minnesota, both for having great training partners and access to invaluable resources and support systems. ...

Yes, this race has changed my goals. Before the race, making a World Team was a goal for another year, but I now think I should be focusing on getting to [the Olympics in] Moscow.

Winter was taking on a toll on Cheever, she wrote at her blog just before leaving for the race at Stanford University:

I really, really hope this California trip will be the end of the winter.

This has been a tough last few weeks for me in Minnesota. ... I’m sorry to complain about the weather.  I grew up in Minneapolis, and I am used to the cold and darkness. ... But having it last so long seemed to be bringing everyone down.

Her next blog entry after the race had a new tone:

Geez Louise! I am ecstatic! On Sunday I ran a 22 second PR at the Stanford Payton Jordan Invitational in the steeplechase for a time of 9:29.18. Coming into the race I felt certain my legs were PR ready, but I was not as certain about my head. As I said in my last post, it has been a tough month. Thankfully, I was able to let the pressure, sadness, and hurt go and instead just had fun racing. 

I knew the field was very deep and included four 2012 steeplechase Olympians ... so I knew I should not get out too fast. Coburn took off at the gun, as I stayed in the front end of the chase pack. ... Each lap I was able to close the gap a bit on Coburn until I had almost caught her the last 200m. However, the announcer did a good job reporting my progress, and she was able to surge ahead and win.

See the drama of the race for yourself (and hear the announcer) in the full video at flotrac.org.