Bahamas sprinter Shaunae Miller finished first in the women’s 400m in extraordinary fashion Monday night, diving across the finish line to deny USA’s Allyson Felix her fifth gold medal.
Miller started strong and led most of the race but was nearly overtaken by Felix in the final moments.
She dove in the last second and slid across the finish line, her torso fully crossing the finish line before Felix and leaving the American sprinter to the silver medal.
‘I’ve never done it before,’ Miller said of her dive. ‘I have some cuts and bruises, a few burns… it hurts.’
‘When I was on the ground I didn’t know I’d won,’ the gold medalist added. ‘I still don’t know how it happened.
‘What was in my mind was I had to get a gold medal. The next thing I was on the ground. It’s an amazing feeling.’
Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson finished in third place.
Some on social media questioned whether winning by diving was fair.
‘Shaunae Miller wasn’t even running at that point,’ wrote one fan on Twitter. ‘How is that allowed? Allyson Felix was robbed #ByeBahamas’
Yet the rules are clear: ‘The first athlete whose torso (as distinguished from the head, neck, arms, legs, hands or feet) reaches the vertical plane of the closest edge of the finish line is the winner,’ explained NBC.
Some athletes came to Miller’s defense.
‘[People] are mad Miller won with a dive but most pro’s at one point have used that tactic to win,’ US athlete Lolo Jones, of track and field and bobsledding, wrote on Twitter. ‘Miller didn’t cheat Allyson, she won fair.’
Jones added: ‘America we have won medals off of dives, so please have more class about Miller.
‘If Allyson had dove and won, everyone would be commending her heart,’ wrote American athlete Ryan Wilson, who competes in 110m hurdles, on twitter.
Sprinter Michael Johnson tweeted another perspective: ‘Shaunae Miller’s dive was to recover from falling. Sprinters know the quickest way across the line is a well timed lean. Trust me on that.’
Miller’s Olympic debut came at the 2012 London Olympics, but the then 18-year-old had a hamstring injury and had to sit out the event.
She has called the injury ‘just a minor setback for a major comeback’.
Last year, she placed second at the 2015 World Championship. Felix took gold.
This story first appeared in here
Feature image courtesy dailymail.co.uk
