“I didn’t really have too many thoughts on it”.
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The image provided by OMEGA on Monday, Aug. 15, 2016 shows the photo finish of the women’s 400-meter final when Bahamas’ Shaunae Miller, bottom right, falls over the finish line to win gold ahead of United States’ silver medal victor Allyson Felix, top right, and Jamaica’s bronze medal victor Shericka Jackson, left, during the athletics competitions of 2016 Summer Olympics at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday evening, Aug. 15, 2016. Sprinters know the quickest way across the line is a well timed lean.
In a field of eight runners Monday night, Felix was in lane 4 – right next to her USA teammate Phyllis Francis, and two over from another teammate, Natasha Hastings. Sensing her Olympic title was slipping from her grasp, Miller dove across the finish line and was rewarded with a narrow victory in a new personal best of 49.51 to Felix’s 49.57. ‘I have some cuts and bruises, a few burns… it hurts.
“The athletes shall be placed in the order in which any part of their bodies (i.e. torso, as distinguished from the head, neck, arms, legs, hands or feet) reaches the vertical plane of the nearer edge of the finish line as defined above”. They came down the last 100 meters and Felix drew even, then got a step ahead.
“I was thinking, “Oh my gosh, I am lying on the ground right now”, she said, speaking to reporters.
Felix meanwhile was left to reflect on a disappointing defeat which comes after a year which began with the Los Angeles native eyeing a rare Olympic double. She passed Jackie Joyner-Kersee for the most medals won by an American woman in track and field and she is now tied with Irena Szewinska (Poland), Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jamaica) and Shirley Strickland (Australia) for total Olympic medals in the sport. “I’m a competitor and I went for it, so in this moment it’s painful”.
Though many may still contest that Joyner-Kersee is still the better athlete (having won six medals in individual events), Felix is arguably the one of the greatest and most decorated United States woman in Olympics track and field.
Felix clearly wanted the gold but she did get a nice consolation prize.
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 United States trials. “I didn’t have more to give”. Clayton Murphy powered through in the final 50 meters for bronze.
Manou defended the Bahama runner’s collapse.
American Sam Kendricks took bronze at 5.85.
Ms Felix was widely considered the favourite to win the event.
Felix still made Olympic history.
But the highlight for many was a 400-meters ending for the ages.
It marked quite a disappointment for Felix, whose season just didn’t turn out the way she planned it because of an injury during training.
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She had hoped to challenge for both the 200m and 400m titles in Rio, aiming to become the first woman to win both races in the same Olympics since Marie-Jose Perec in 1996.
