Second behind Felix in the 400 meters at the world championships in Beijing past year when her strong finish was not enough to rein in the American, Miller had clearly learned her lesson.
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Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas dives over the finish line to win the gold medal in the Women’s 400m Final. In the end, Miller fought off a surging Allyson Felix and dove across the finish line to win the gold. Then reality set in for Felix once the times flashed on the board, Miller winning by.07 seconds. It was not the medal she wanted, however. Maybe they should give her a cape, too.
Rio de Janeiro: Kenya’s David Rudisha obliterated his rivals in the 800 meters final on Monday to become the first man since 1964 to retain his Olympic title over the distance.
This is Miller’s first Olympic appearance and first global gold.
Halfway through the race, it was clear that was no sure thing.
Felix made a late push after Miller had jumped out early. Felix slowly chipped away.
It came down to the last few steps, but Miller opted for the dive – the sort of technique no coach would ever teach.
As the Olympics’ bio of Miller tells us, her race in the 400 meters comes 48 years after her grand-uncle Leslie Miller ran it for the Bahamas at the 1968 Olympic Games.
But not before an agonizing 20 seconds of waiting before the final results were posted.
Felix hasn’t yet said if this will be her last Olympics.
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“Shaunae Miller’s dive was to recover from falling”.
