Most of these Olympics are filled with stories of how results and medals aren't always as important as the arduous journey to achieve it.
This is not the story of Emma Coburn.
America's leading steeplechaser for the past decade reached a final Wednesday night that was as surprising for her as it was thrilling for her American teammate, second-place finisher Courtney Frerichs.
Coburn crossed the line in 14th place, then later revealed she had been disqualified as she went off the track after stumbling last over the barrier.
"It sucks to suck on the biggest stage," Coburn said.
To him, it was as unforgivable as it was unacceptable.
She has spent the past 10 years perfecting a craft that had little to do with Americans on the international stage but now does a lot. Coburn won bronze at the last Olympics, gold and silver at the last two World Championships. He has served in the U.S. in nine of the last 10 years. Championship is won.
She didn't come to Tokyo expecting so much, but hoping to bring home a medal.
Some people, she knows, might just let her loose.
As has been played out over and over again on the Olympic stage, the travel, the pressure, the year-long delay due to COVID-19, to say nothing of the pressure that comes with great expectations, all these are more on an athlete's journey. There are valid reasons to focus. compared to the result.
But while Coburn stood there, chewing gum, placing his hand on his hip, trying to shake his despair, he had nothing. No, that said, steeplechase doesn't define him as a person. But this is what she does for a living.
"We are professional athletes," she said. "Obviously, everyone has their own experiences. But for me, it's about the results and it's about everyone in my life. I have my partner, my husband, my sponsors, my friends, my life." Everyone in me gives me everything. So the journey is important and we're going to enjoy the journey. But when you suck, like, that's not part of the journey."
Probably the most frustrating thing for Coburn is that she couldn't see it coming. Sure, she said, during the warmup and in qualifying, she felt a little nicks and tweaks, but nothing she hadn't done before.
"I walked to that starting line thinking I was coming home with an Olympic medal," she said.
Almost from the start, the race didn't go as planned.
It didn't help that the field was out early, with Coburn hanging into a second pack behind Frerichs, who began to open up a massive gap. With one lap to go, Peruth Chemutai, the first woman from Uganda to win an Olympic gold medal, joined, and eventually passed, the American.
It was a two-woman race. Coburn was nowhere near him.
"I should have been perfect today," she said. "I should have been excellent. And I wasn't. And I don't think there's anything we could have done differently in practice to make today's day less of a disaster. Which is disturbing "
It felt like the smallest victory, Coburn said, that she was able to finish the last two laps when her body felt something she hadn't felt in years. For some, fighting that pain can be a victory of sorts.
But after his most disappointing run to date, Coburn was having trouble catching a glimpse of the light. He was also having trouble finding the reason.
Hurts, "and it's heartbreaking," she said.
"And obviously we're seeing a lot of mental-health issues. But for me to be here, to be really physically ready, and to be like I did, 20 of my closest friends and Families are not supporting me for the last five years. This is not what I have been able to do. I know I need to do better."