The 30-year-old from California was left distraught after a last-gasp lunge by Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas denied her gold in a thrilling women’s 400m final. Maybe it was more of a tumble than a dive, but what matters is the end result: Her shoulder crossed the finish line first, and gold went to her. Felix finished 0.07 seconds behind her. Unfortunately for sprinter Allyson Felix, the best gold medal dive came at the track and field competition.
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But still, the now seven-time Olympic gold medalist is psyched that her silver medal in the 400-meter sprint makes her the most decorated female Olympian in the history of US track and field, surpassing the legendary Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
She took silver, a seventh Olympic medal in her remarkable career, with Shericka Jackson of Jamaica taking bronze.
Felix was denied a chance to defend her 200 metre title after she failed to finish in the top three in her United States trials.
When the gunshot went off, Miller flew like a rocket and managed to get a good head start against Felix thanks to her long strides. I have cuts and bruises and a few burns. Her torso had to beat Felix’s to the line. “I just really wanted it”.
Brazil’s Thiago Braz da Silva broke the 6-meter barrier to upset defending champion Renaud Lavillenie and win pole vault gold with an Olympic record of 6.03 (19 feet, 9¼ inches).
Case in point: Shaunae Miller. She will get a chance to add to her three golds on Tuesday in the floor exercise finals.
“When I was on the ground I didn’t know I’d won”, Miller said, “I still don’t know how it happened”. As it turned out, the USA added to its lead in the overall medals table, but it broke a 29-day Summer Olympics streak of winning at least one gold that dated back to the 2008 Games.
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“Four years ago I was a sophomore and didn’t even make it out of the semifinals at the Olympic trials”.
