Shaunae Miller’s finish to the 400m was picture ideal. It’s so great. I am so excited. But her first-place finish in the 400 at the World Championships a year ago showed she could step up to the longer distance without missing much. What was in my mind was I had to get a gold medal. “I dedicate this to the poor people”.
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The 27-year-old Kenyan finished in a time of one minute 42:15, ahead of Algeria’s Taoufik Makhloufi who took silver and Clayton Murphy who produced a strong finish to come third.
“While I was laying on the ground, she was looking at me like, “Get up, get up”, Miller said.
It began with a downpour that stopped action in all the events and put the DJ to work, playing “Singing In The Rain”, “Umbrella”, and “I Can’t Stand the Rain”, among other fare, while the fans waited out the delay.
But 30-year-old Felix – competing at her fourth Olympics – began to force her way back and looked set to overhaul her younger opponent before Miller made an unorthodox move for the line.
“My body is kind of numb”, she said. “I didn’t really have too many thoughts on it”. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for; I just gave it my all. “I am just so happy, so grateful, such emotions I just can’t say”.
“I wanted to win”, Felix told reporters.
Felix said she “didn’t feel like I had any more left to give”. That puts her past Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s record and makes her the most decorated USA female track athlete of all time.
Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas won a dramatic gold medal in the women’s 400m final at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
China’s Zhang Wenxiu won the silver medal with a 76.75m – adding to the bronze she won at the Beijing 2008 Games – and Sophie Hitchon became Great Britain’s first Olympic hammer medal victor for 92 years.
The pain will go away.
Miller retained the lead coming off the final bend but started tightening up as Felix surged about 50 meters from the line and the pair were neck-and-neck until the Bahamian’s gold medal-winning dive.
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The two were both closely pursued, with Shericka Jackson of Jamaica finishing in 49.85 seconds and taking the bronze medal.
