U.S. Olympic Trials steeplechase champion Emma Coburn has remained one of most remarkably consistent athletes throughout the world in an event where the unexpected is, well, expected.

If you’re not familiar with the track and field event, the steeplechase can seem absolutely wild—especially when you first see that water pit. The Olympic steeplechase requires seven and a half laps around the track (that’s just under two miles) at full speed while hurdling a total of twenty-eight 30-inch barriers and seven 12-foot-long water jumps. So yes, the athletes are running with wet shoes. Wipeouts can happen, which is why steeplechasers have to be mentally prepared for anything.

In June, Coburn, a 30-year-old Colorado native, won her ninth U.S. national title in Eugene, Oregon, with a new Olympic Trials record of 9:09.41. The win marked her seventh consecutive national title in the event, according to NBC Sports, and Tokyo is her third Olympic Games. Beyond her national dominance, Coburn has an incredible track record at the world level too: She’s medaled at each of the past three global championships, including earning a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the gold at the 2017 World Championships.

But even American legends stumble sometimes.

“99% perfect,” she wrote on Instagram on July 9 after taking a tumble on the final water barrier at a high-profile meet in Monaco. Before the fall, she was on American-record pace, and in position for the overall win against her top international rivals. She recovered to finish fourth in 9:09.02, still one of her fastest times this season.

“Working on that 1%,” she said in the caption. “I’m physically fine from the fall, and know my next few weeks will be great as I prepare for the biggest show in Tokyo.”

While her post appears to show she took her fall in stride, it hasn’t always been that easy. Her self-assuredness developed over her years in national and world competitions.

“I used to have a lot of race anxiety when I was young, and would stand on the starting line feeling so nervous,” Coburn says to SELF by email. “Now, I train better, and have more confidence in my work, so I stand on the starting line feeling focused and ready. I put less focus on the potential negative outcome now and more of a view on the upside.”

SELF talked with the all-time great before the Olympics to learn more about her approach to the mental side of racing—and how that might just help her earn another medal in Tokyo. She’ll take to the track on August 4 to contest the steeplechase final.

1. Invite in some pre-race calm

Scientists have discovered that reciting meditational phrases, often known as mantras in traditional yoga practice, can help calm the brain’s “default mode network,” potentially easing distraction and improving focus, a 2017 study in the Journal of Cognitive Enhancement found.

But these recitations aren’t just for yoga—Coburn uses them on race day to help center her mind for the task at hand.

“I often have race mantras, but it’s dependent on my tactic that day,” Coburn says. “When I won the World Championship in 2017, it was simply ‘Stay on it,’ because my task was to stay with the leaders for 2,000 meters and then see what happens. Sometimes the mantra is ‘Stay relaxed’ or ‘Time to go,’ but it is usually something simple.”

To keep her mind relatively clear, Coburn also avoids listening to music before her races. Instead, she’ll chat with friends and family or meditate to stay relaxed.

“I’m usually just chatting with Joe [Bosshard, her coach and husband] or texting with my sister,” she says. “Or just laying with my eyes closed trying to find some peace and feel centered.”

2. Stay present

Achieving “flow state”—a state of mind where an athlete is completely absorbed in the rhythm of their performance—is a common strategy for endurance events. But in a crowded track race, where positioning can be more important than pace, Coburn says she stays fully aware of her surroundings at all times.

“I’m almost always very present to everything around me,” she says. “I acknowledge what’s happening and see it, react to it, adjust if needed. I don’t get frazzled, but I am paying attention.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean she’s lasered in to the exact same things each race, though.

“There are races that I’m shooting for a specific time, and in those races I might be thinking more about my race splits,” she says. “There are other races, like the Olympic Trials and the Olympics, where it’s all about place, so I am thinking more about positioning and whatever tactic I need to use in that given race.”

3. Embrace your instincts

While Coburn has a race plan in her mind, she doesn’t use that as an excuse to pass up opportunities. In fact, once she gets to the final water barrier, she allows her instincts to take over.

In her historic 2017 World Championships win, the final water barrier was where she made her decisive move for the win. When she saw a space open up on the inside rail, she didn’t hesitate.

“I remember feeling surprised that the inside line opened up, and that I was able to take the best line into the water,” she recalls. “Then, I nailed the water jump and sprinted home.”

Despite fatigue at the end of the race, she also believes it’s easier to stay locked into a faster rhythm while clearing hurdles, since the jumps become more instinctual.

“When you’re running slow, it’s harder to have a nice, beautiful hurdle form,” she said at the press conference following her Olympic Trials win. “At a faster pace, I think it’s more natural to stretch and reach for the barriers and have a longer leg.” By allowing herself to let her body take over, she says, it can help prevent the overthinking that can cause stutters.

4. Trust your training

Coburn says that when she first started competing in high school, a lot of her race anxiety stemmed from lack of confidence in her training, which left her feeling unprepared. Now, she uses the work that she puts in all year to fuel not only her body, but also to reassure her mind.

“In general in a race, you shouldn’t be asking yourself to do something you are not capable of, so I just remind myself that I am prepared, that I have worked hard for this, and I am ready,” she says.

To get in peak race form, Coburn trains in some way seven days a week, sometimes multiple times per day, throughout the year. Her training group is based in Boulder, Colorado, where it reaps the benefits of running at altitude. Before the Olympic Trials, Coburn was running as many as 90 miles per week during her 11 weeks at altitude camp to prepare for the summer racing season. She strength trains, too, making sure to include heavy compound lifts like trap bar deadlifts (where she reached 195 pounds, according to her Instagram), inverted rows, and single-leg box jumps.

It’s the memories of those tough workouts that Coburn summons when races start to get hard.

“Often, in the later stages of a race, I am thinking about good, strong workouts that I completed in practice,” she says. “I’m putting my mind into those workouts where I pushed through.”

5. Lean on your support system

If you follow Coburn on her social media, you probably know all the names of her über-supportive family members, many of whom live nearby in Colorado. In fact, back in 2017, a video of her sister Gracie cheering at the television screen as Emma won her first world championship went viral.

But life isn’t all gold medals and glory. The tight-knit family has dealt with their own struggles over the past few years. Coburn’s mom, Annie, was diagnosed with stage-four colon cancer in December 2019, which, as Coburn told Women’s Running earlier this month, was “the first big thing” she had to tackle. Annie was able to travel to Eugene for the Olympic Trials to support her daughter in the stands, which gave Coburn an added support on race day.

“Sharing this with my mom is everything,” she told the Associated Press after the race.

Coburn is also quick to cite her husband and coach, Joe Bosshard, as the biggest difference maker in her running. The couple met and first started dating in high school before attending the University of Colorado together, where they both competed for the Buffaloes cross country and track teams.

Bosshard took over as her coach following the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, where Coburn had earned the bronze medal. The decision to switch coaches bore out immediately, as she won the World Championships in 2017.

“My relationship with my husband has helped improve my brain game because he’s honest, he doesn’t let me be the victim of circumstance, he makes me focus on the controllable, and reminds me that I am in charge of my destiny,” Coburn says.

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