It took a headfirst dive by Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas to beat Felix in the 400 meters by .07 seconds.
RIO DE JANEIRO – It took a headfirst dive by Shaunae Miller at the finish line to beat Allyson Felix of the United States, denying her a fifth Olympic gold medal.
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.
Miller will get the gold medal in the 400 meters. Maybe they should give her a cape, too.
This was supposed to be a stroll and something of a coronation for Felix, who was the defending world champion and had the best career time of the eight women in Monday night’s final. She was trying to become the first woman to win five track gold medals at the Olympics.
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Halfway through the race, it was clear that was no sure thing as Miller asserted herself. They came down the last 100 meters and Felix drew even, maybe got a step ahead.
Stride for stride they ran, until the last few steps. Felix, classically trained by Bobby Kersee, made a textbook lean toward the finish line. Miller tried something else.
The dive is something no coach would teach.
“My mind just went blank,” Miller said. “The only thing I was thinking (about) was the gold medal, and the next thing I know, I was on the ground.”
The rules say the victory is determined by which athlete has any part of her torso cross the line first. The photo finish showed the image of Miller’s sprawled body, with her shoulder at the line before Felix reached. Miller won in 49.44 seconds and had scrapes and bruises.
“My body is kind of numb,” she said. “It’s all just burning right now.”
The pain will go away. That gold is hers forever.
Notes
• Kenya’s David Rudisha successfully defended his title in the 800 meters, winning in 1:42.15.
• Thiago Braz da Silva of Brazil pleased the home crowd, winning the pole vault by clearing 19 feet, 9¼ inches.
• Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland surpassed her world record and won gold in the hammer throw with an effort of 269-11¾.
• Jordin Andrade from Bonney Lake, competing for Cape Verde, advanced to Tuesday’s semifinal round of the men’s 400 hurdles with a time of 49.35.
• Oregon football player Devon Allen advanced in the 110 hurdles by finishing second in his first-round heat in 13.41.