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.’“I heard my mom screaming,” Miller said. “When I heard her screaming, I was like, ‘OK, I had to have won the race.'”
Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson finished in third place.
Her dive will go down as one of the most dramatic images seen at any Olympics. See Video Below:
