Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas (L) dives over the finish line to win the gold medal in the women’s 400-meter ahead of silver medalist Allyson Felix (C) and bronze medalist Shericka Jackson of Jamaica (R) at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on August 15, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.
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It took a good 10 seconds before the scores were announced because the finish was just that close.
Felix closed the gap entirely, but Miller held on for the win by seven hundredths of a second when she dove across the finish line.
It was a dive that would have made Billy Slater proud, but to make it even more incredible, Miller’s effort on a wet Rio track was probably the difference between a gold or silver medal for the 22-year-old from Nassau.
She won gold in the 2012 London games in the 200 meters but failed to qualify for the Rio games in the same event.
Her fall was the only thing that stopped her being overrun by Felix after entering the final 100m with a huge lead.
Felix, 30, became the most decorated US woman in track-and-field history with a seventh Olympic medal by passing the legendary Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
WHEN you’re in an Olympic final then you’ll do everything in your power to win gold and Bahamian athlete Shaunae Miller certainly did that in the 400m final. Should she medal in both events, she would tie Jamaican Merlene Ottey’s record for the most Olympic medals won by a female track and field athlete in history. Though disappointed, Felix still sets a record, becoming the most decorated United States woman in Olympics track and field.
Still, legendary 400-meter runner Michael Johnson said he didn’t believe her finish line flop was intentional.
“I was gaining on them, but I realized I was running out of track”, she said. “I’m making mistakes I never made earlier in my career”, she said.
Now, she’s 6-for-6.
“I feel very honoured to have that as part of my story”, Coburn said.
After winning his first Olympic gold and setting a world record at the 2012 London Games, Rudisha suffered a couple of injury-ravaged years that dented his confidence and caused him to miss the 2013 world championships.
However, she was unable to defend over the shorter distance in Rio after suffering torn ankle ligaments in April and then failing to qualify at the USA trials.
The 31-year-old world champion twice threw beyond her previous world-record mark of 266-0. She opened the gap coming off the final curve and it was just a matter of where the finish line was.
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It hasn’t, but Miller’s likely become the torchbearer as the sport’s most iconic diver. She won the bronze Monday, and it was the country’s first medal in the sport since the 2000 Olympics.
