At the risk of joining the list of those who have provided sexist Olympic media coverage, we must confess that the U.S. women's steeplechase team has been rather noticeable for, as Jerry Seinfeld once said in a similar situation, possessing many of the "qualities prized by the superficial man."
There is a reason why certain faces are always gracing magazine covers while others are not, and frankly Emma Coburn, Colleen Quigley and Courtney Frerichs look like they're models.
Yes, that's a shallow observation, but as it turns out, Coburn and Quigley actually have modeled for magazines.
Coburn, who captured the bronze medal in the steeplechase Monday in Rio, participated this year in ESPN The Magazine's annual Body Issue:
Coburn is the first U.S. woman to medal in the steeplechase since it was added to the Olympics in 2008. Her time in the 3,000-meter event, which features hurdles and water pits, was 9:07.63, just a half second behind silver medalist Hyvin Jepkemoi of Kenya and broke her own American record. Ruth Jebet of Bahrain had the winning time of 8:59.75.
Quigley, who finished eighth in 9:21.10, worked as a model while she was in high school with representation from noted agencies Wilhelmina and Storm. She appeared in magazines like Glamour and Seventeen. But after getting a track scholarship to Florida State, Quigley chose running over modeling.
"When it came time to go to college, I felt it was the right choice for me to accept a scholarship as an athlete and graduate four years later with a degree and no debt," Quigley wrote on her website. "After college, the opportunity arose to continue doing what I really love, and even though I'm sure I could make quite a bit more money as a model, there is something inside me that can't put this running thing on the back burner just yet. I have done and plan on doing some modeling for my sponsors, but for now I am a runner first, then model."
Here is a sample from Quigley's personal gallery:
Frerichs, who placed second behind Coburn at the U.S. Olympic Trials, took 11th place in Rio among the 18 finalists with a time of 9:22.87.
In winning the bronze, Coburn cut nearly 16 seconds from her time in the 2012 Olympics. She qualified for London as a 21-year-old, making her the youngest runner on the U.S. team that year. She took ninth place in 9:23.54, a personal best at the time.
Running in college for Colorado, Coburn won the NCAA steeplechase championship as a junior and a senior.
More Olympic Games:
-- Gruesome Leg Injury Can't Stop Paul George
-- Carmelita Jeter Remembers Making The Switch From Basketball
-- Mike Conley Jr.: When Your Dad Is An Olympian
