In Roman mythology, daughter of the Roman commander Spurius Tarpeius, was a Vestal virgin who betrayed the city of Rome to the Sabines at the time of their women's abduction for what she thought would be a reward of jewellery. She was instead crushed to death and her body cast from the southern cliff of Rome's Capitoline Hill, thereafter called Tarpeian Rock; the legend tells that while Rome was besieged by the Sabine king Titus Tatius, daughter of the commander of the citadel, Spurius Tarpeius, approached the Sabine camp and offered them entry to the city in exchange for "what they bore on their left arms". Greedy for gold, she had meant their bracelets, but instead the Sabines threw their shields—carried on the left arm—upon her, crushing her to death, her body was hurled from a steep cliff of the southern summit of the Capitoline Hill. The Sabines were however unable to conquer the Forum, its gates miraculously protected by boiling jets of water created by Janus; the legend was depicted in 89 BC by Sabinus following the Civil Wars as well as on a silver denarius of the Emperor Augustus in 20 BC.

Tarpeia would become a symbol of betrayal and greed in Rome. The cliff from which she was thrown was named the Tarpeian Rock, would become the place of execution for Rome's most notorious traitors. Lucretia Al-Nadirah Livy. "Ab urbe condita". 1:11. Translated from the Original with Notes and Illustrations by George Baker, A. M.. First American ed. from the Last London Edition, in Six Volumes.. Retrieved 1 May 2016. CS1 maint: location Propertius, IV.4

Emma Coburn is an American middle-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 meter steeplechase. At the 2017 World Championships in London, Coburn won the 3000 metres steeplechase with a time of 9.02.58, breaking her own American record. This made her the first American woman to win a gold medal in the steeplechase at either the World Championships or the Olympics, she set an American record of 9:07.63 in the 3000 meter steeplechase to win a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games. This made her the first American woman to win any Olympic medal in that event, her other achievements in the event include reaching the 2012 Olympic final, the World Championship finals in 2011 and 2015. She won the 2014 IAAF Continental Cup, she is an eight-time United States National Champion. Coburn attended Crested Butte Community School, she finished second in the 2008 Nike Outdoor Nationals Track and Field Championships 2000 meter steeplechase in 6:42. Coburn is six-time All-American. While attending the University of Colorado in 2010, Coburn won the Pac-12 steeplechase title as a sophomore and finished second in the NCAA championships.

In 2011, as a junior, Coburn won both the Pac-12 indoor 3000 meter title, the Pac-12 and NCAA outdoor title in the 3000 meter steeplechase. Coburn won the 2011 USA outdoor title in the steeplechase and made the US steeple team at the World Championships in 2011, finishing 12th in the final. During her senior year in cross country, Coburn finished in 20th place over the six-kilometer distance at the NCAA national cross country championships and was Colorado's 2nd place runner, contributing to an 11th-place team finish. In her first steeplechase of the 2012 season, Coburn became the fourth-fastest American in history and the fastest American on US soil with her time of 9:25.28. The time was a 12-second PR for Coburn, who redshirted the 2012 outdoor season at Colorado to focus on the Olympic Trials. Coburn was named the Pac-12 Track Athlete of the Week on April 30, 2013, after recording the best 3,000 steeplechase time in the world for the season. Coburn qualified for the 2012 U. S. Olympic team in the 3000 meter steeplechase, joined in the event by her University of Colorado teammate Shalaya Kipp.

At age 21, Coburn was the youngest runner on the American team at the 2012 Olympics. In her Olympic heat, she placed third with a time of 9:27.51, automatically qualifying for the final. She came in 9th in the final, with a time of 9:23.54 – a personal best. In 2014, Coburn improved her 3000 m steeplechase best four times. At the Shanghai Diamond League meeting, she ran 9:19.81 before improving to 9:17.84 for third at Eugene and 9:19.72 to win her third US title in Sacramento. At the Paris Diamond League meeting, she ran a 9:14.72 for a second-place finish. This moved her to second on the US all-time list behind Jenny Simpson. At the Diamond League meet in Glasgow, she broke Simpson's American record of 9:12.51 by running 9:11.42 and finishing second in the race to Hiwot Ayalew. In 2015, Coburn's indoor mile ranked 28th in the world. Coburn ran an Olympic qualifying time of 4:05.1 at the Prefontaine meet in May. She won the steeplechase at the 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships to qualify for the 2015 World Championships in Athletics, where she placed fifth.

In 2016, Coburn opened her outdoor season running 4:06.92 in the 1500 meters at Hoka One One Middle Distance Classic hosted at Occidental College. She set a new American record shortly thereafter at the Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field, where she ran 9:10.76 in the 3000 meter steeplechase. Coburn broke the American record for a third time, earning bronze in 9:07.63 in the 2016 Olympic steeplechase and becoming the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in the 3000 meters steeplechase. Coburn placed ninth in 4:23.8 at the 2016 Fifth Avenue Mile. On December 2, 2016, Coburn announced on her Twitter account that she was leaving Coach Mark Wetmore after "an amazing 8 years." She moved coaches to her fiancé, Joe Bosshard. On May 5, 2017, Coburn opened her outdoor season at the IAAF Diamond League 2017 Doha Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix, racing the steeplechase in 9:14 to place 5th, she took gold in the 2017 World Championships on August 11 in London. This championship made her the first American woman to win a gold medal in the steeplechase at either the World Championships or the Olympics.

Four of the Kenyan-born women she beat in that race, including Olympic champion/world record holder Ruth Jebet had run faster than Coburn. Courtney Frerichs won a silver medal at the same event, thus making Coburn and Frerichs the first Americans to win the gold and silver medal in any individual World Championships or Olympics race longer than 400 meters since the 1912 Stockholm Games. In January 2018, Coburn opened her indoor season at Western State Colorado University, where she ran a Colorado state record mile. Coburn followed her mile victory with a pair of 3000 meters races, first on February 3 at the Millrose Games in 8:41.16, a runner-up finish to teammate Aisha Praught-Leer who ran 8:41.10, at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on February 10, 2018, at the Reggie Lewis Center where her time of 8:43.57 placed 4th. Coburn finished 3rd in the 3000 meters at the 2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships behind winner Shelby Houlihan and runner-up Katie Mackey. On June 30, 2019, she ran 9:04.90 to place second behind world record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech in the star-studded