Miller, a 22-year-old from the Bahamas, stayed even with Felix for 398 meters, then sprawled, dived and crashed across the line to edge Felix by.07 seconds.
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No, that’s no error. “When I heard her screaming, I was like, ‘OK, I had to have won the race'”.
Miller finished in 49.44 seconds to narrowly hold off world champion Felix, who finished strongly in 49.51 seconds.
Shericka Jackson of Jamaica took the bronze medal. “I am just so happy, so grateful, such emotions I just can’t say”. Last night in the 400-meter final, Bahamanian runner Shaunae Miller won the gold medal in dramatic fashion. The photo finish showed Miller’s shoulder barely beat Felix to the line. With a total of seven medals, Felix became the most decorated female track and field athlete in Olympics history, but one suspects that it may be a little while before she celebrates that accomplishment.
And her bid for a first Olympic 400m crown, after gold in the 200m, 4x100m and twice in the 4x400m also fell short.
“What was in my mind was I had to get a gold medal”.
Her last-gasp dive earned her victory with a time of 49.44 seconds with four-time Olympic gold medalist Felix less than a tenth of a second behind her. “Coming home, that’s when I tried to give all I had”.
Former track and field star Lolo Jones took to Twitter to quiet down the people outraged at Miller’s gold medal dive.
But if Felix had taken the plunge, we may just be talking about how she’s the first USA woman in track history to win five gold medals instead of how she was robbed by a wild finish.
“I didn’t think about lunging myself”.
She continued, as reported by Daily Mail Online: “I feel emotionally and physically drained at this point”.
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Miller, twenty two years old, won by a hairline and in the most unexpected fashion.
