In a thrilling women's Olympic steeplechase final, Bahrainian Ruth Jebet finished just shy of the world record in 8:59.75 to claim gold, while Emma Coburn took advantage of the fast pace to earn bronze in a new American record of 9:07.63. Kenyan Hyvin Kiyeng Jepkemoi took silver in 9:07.12.

Coburn's performance broke her own American record by three seconds, and marks the first time in history that an American woman has earned an Olympic medal in the steeplechase. 

The conditions were prime for a historic performance as world leader Jebet established a brisk pace that kept building. 

Coburn moved to the front of the lead pack two laps into the race to set herself up for a top finish. The lead pack crossed the first 1K in 3:05. At that point, Jebet shot to the front and extended a lead over the competition. 

For the next few minutes, Jebet continued to build her lead over Kenyans Beatrice Kepkoech and 2015 world champion Jepkemoi. Coburn tailed them in fourth, which was 10 meters behind the Kenyan duo, and 30 meters behind Jebet. 

Jebet crossed the 2K mark in 6:00--well ahead of the Kenyans and Coburn, and closer to the elusive world record mark. 

With two laps remaining, Coburn fought her way into third place to separate Kepkoech and Jepkemoi. With one lap remaining, Coburn and Jepkemoi found themselves running side by side and fighting for silver and bronze in the final moments. 

The top three competitors cleared the final water pit, and rounded the turn for the finish--Jebet was frantically chasing the world record, while Jepkemoi and Coburn were battling for the podium. 

Jebet closed for gold in 8:59.75--just behind the 8:58.81 world record--and was followed by Jepkemoi and Coburn eight seconds later to round out the top three Olympic final finishes. 

The 19-year-old's gold medal-winning performance is even more amazing considering this was her first Olympic Games appearance after finishing 11th at the 2015 World Championships.

For Coburn, the performance marks her first international championship medal after finishing eighth at the 2012 Olympic Games and fifth at the 2015 World Championships. Her Olympic performance stands as the eighth fastest mark all-time.