After Split With Coach Mark Wetmore, Coburn Finds New Training Partner in Aisha Praught Leer

By Adam Kopet, DyeStat Editor

After Emma Coburn won the bronze medal in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2016 Rio Olympics, she left coach Mark Wetmore, whom she had worked with since enrolling at Colorado University in 2008. Now, nine years later, Coburn is being coached by her fiance, Joe Bosshard.

This change cut her off from previous training partners, including 2016 Olympic 1,500 bronze medalist Jenny Simpson. Now, however, Coburn has a new training partner.

Aisha Praught Leer has spent the last four years training in Eugene as a part of the Nike Oregon Track Club Elite as a steeplechaser. The former Illinois State University runner competes internationally for Jamaica. She has personal bests of 4:05.52 for the 1,500 and 9:31.75 for the 3,000 steeplechase. She finished 14th in the steeplechase at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

In her Instagram post announcing the change, Praught Leer thanks her previous coaches and teammates and cites positivity in her relationship with her new coach, Bosshard, as a reason to look forward to her new training situation.