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Allyson Felix is opening up about the dramatic dive from Shaunae Miller that kept her from her fifth Olympic gold medal.
Miller’s gold medal finish was her personal best at 49.44 seconds, but after diving to the finish line she laid on the ground barely able to breathe unaware that she had won.
Miller, who won the 2013 NCAA indoor title and was second at the national outdoor meet that year, came into the Games with two of the world’s top three 400m times this year. Shericka Jackson of Jamaica won the bronze in 49.85 seconds.
Miller, who was her country’s flag bearer in the games’ opening ceremony, said that during her victory lap she “just remembered all the hard workouts I have been doing”. At least not until a step from the end when the Bahamian sprawled across the finish line to steal the gold medal in one of the most engaging races of the Summer Olympics.
“It all kind of happened”, she said of the tumble, which some believe was accidental.
How hard must it be for an athlete to overcome an ankle injury, as Felix did, to finally run her best race of the year, only to still lose?
Felix, 30, became the most decorated USA woman in track-and-field history with a seventh Olympic medal by passing the legendary Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
She exploded out of the blocks in lane seven and went for broke, her long stride giving her a good lead on the back straight as the shorter Felix powered away inside her.
On Monday night, the women sprinters raced in the 400 meters. I heard my mom screaming.
“I gave it everything I had”, she continued.
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Felix was disappointed with the way the race ended, but was happy with her effort. I feel emotionally and physically drained at this moment. Johnny Gray also had finished third in Barcelona for the last US medal in the race. Her torso had to beat Felix’s to the line.
