Bahamian sprinter Shaunae Miller finished the Rio Olympics women’s 400m race with a dive across the finish line. “It is always hard after a 400 and I was physically and emotionally drained”, admitted the American.
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It wasn’t Shaunae Miller’s hands across the line that won the gold. By referring to the footage, shown below, you can see that Miller’s torso crosses the finish line just before Felix’s foot lands.
“I just gave it all I had, I don’t think I had anything left to give”, Felix said. “The only thing I was thinking was the gold medal”.
Even still, Felix’s silver medal makes her the most decorated USA female track athlete of all time.
In the moments leading up the end of the race, Felix edged Miller by a pace.
Next up, Felix is in the relay pool for the 4×400-meter, an event in which she’s won gold twice. I just really wanted it.
When I was on the ground I didn’t know I’d won. Preliminary round races will be run today, with the finals set for Wednesday night. As the two track and field competitors approached the finish line, Miller dove across the finish, essentially falling down and yet managed to actually win!
The women’s 400 highlighted a record day at the track for Americans, starting in the morning session when Coloradoan Emma Coburn became the first US female to win a medal in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, an event added to the Olympic program eight years ago.
It may not be gold she was hoping for, but Felix’s silver takes her up to seven Olympic medals in total since 2004 – including four golds. When she tweeted the photo, it quickly went viral, sparking a debate about sexism. “The only thing going through my mind was, I have to get the gold medal”.
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A law professor came across a headline about the two athletes that she found appalling. In 2012, when she was still in high school, she failed to make it out of the qualifying round.
