Felix, who won silver in the race, told Reuters she was disappointed to have missed out on the gold for the 400-meter.
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No, that’s no error.
She won gold in the 2012 London games in the 200 meters but failed to qualify for the Rio games in the same event.
On Monday night, Bahamian runner Shaunae Miller nabbed the gold medal in the women’s 400-meter race, beating Team USA’s Allyson Felix.
Miller finished the race with a personal best time of 49.44, to Felix’s 49.51.
Miller crossed the end mark at 49.44 seconds, whereas Felix caught up at 49.51.
Miller said: “It was a fantastic race and that was an awesome effort from a world-class athlete”.
“This is the moment I have been waiting for, I just gave it my all”, she said after the race. The 19-year-old was attempting to become the first female gymnast to win five gold medals in a single Olympics. The photo finish showed the image of Miller’s sprawled body, with her shoulder at the line before Felix reached.
Felix said she “didn’t feel like I had any more left to give”.
“Disappointment”, the 30-year-old said as she struggled to hold back her tears. Some scoffed at Miller, saying she didn’t deserve the gold medal. Felix, classically trained by Bobby Kersee – the husband and fomer coach of another American track and field legend, Jackie-Joyner Kersee – made a textbook lean into the finish line.
A runner is allowed to dive the way Miller did. “I really wanted it, it’s painful”.
The 22-year-old Bahamian athlete was competing in her first Olympic final in the 400m, and nearly neck-and-neck with two-time 4x400m relay champion Allyson Felix of the United States.
“While I was laying on the ground, she was looking at me like, “Get up, get up.’ And I was like, ‘Not right now, just leave me to catch myself real quick”, she added.
“What was in my mind was I had to get a gold medal”.
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The result popped up on the scoreboard: Miller won in 49.44 seconds. After winning the world championship at 400 meters a year ago, she put the 200-400 double in her sights for the Olympics.
