Just when it was nearly certain that Felix would win the game, Miller lunged face-first over the finish line, breaking the plane just 0.07 seconds before Felix and landing face down. That year, Felix became the first female United States athlete to win three gold medals at the same Olympics since 1988.
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Miller, right, runs ahead Allyson Felix, middle.
Just as she had done in Beijing a year ago, Shericka Jackson of Jamaica took the bronze medal.
She now has seven Olympic medals – more than any other woman in U.S. history. Miller led the race coming into the home straight, but Felix was breathing down her neck as the race closed in to the final 100 metres.
She dove in the last second and managed to take gold.
Asked what she wanted to communicate to young kids who look up to her, she said it’s important to keep fighting.
Miller finished the race with a personal best time of 49.44, to Felix’s 49.51.
You know what your old Little League baseball coaches used to always say: Run through the bag, don’t dive for it.
The two track and field stars were neck and neck at the end of the race until Miller, 22, left her feet and flew through the air with outstretched arms in the final yard of the race. Team USA supporters called the finish cheating even though the dive is perfectly legal.
“I think [the dive] was just a reaction, my mind went blank, the next thing I knew I was lying on the ground”. Felix caught up with her.
“I’ve got a few cuts and bruises but I’m okay”, she said, adding: “This is the moment I have been waiting for”.
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Felix made her Olympic debut in 2004 at the age of 18 and claimed a silver medal in the 200m, which she often describes as her favorite event. I feel emotionally and physically drained at this moment.
