As Allyson Felix barreled down the final stretch of the women’s 400m final on Monday, she had history in her eyes. A gold medal would have been the fifth of Felix’s career, and the most of any woman in Olympic track and field history. For a moment, it seemed like Felix was going to do it. She was gaining steady ground on Shaunae Miller as the two came up to the finish line. What happened next was one of the great finishes in Olympics history.
3 photos show how a dive at the finish line and 0.07 seconds cost Allyson Felix a piece of history
In one final gasp to hold off the charging Felix, Miller threw herself across the finish line. The dive was just enough as Miller won the race by an incredibly thin 0.07 margin.
Here is how it looked from the wide angle. So incredibly close.
The zoomed in shot shows Miller was indeed able to just edge Felix across the line.
The photo finish tells the final story.
It’s important to remember that a hand or a foot crossing the line does not decide the race. The race is decided by which runner’s chest crosses the finish line first. Felix’s entire body crossed the finish line before Miller’s, but that is not what counts. It’s clear from the photos that Miller’s chest did cross first, by just a fraction of a second.
While Felix was denied a place in history, her silver medal did make her the most decorated American woman in track and field history.
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