Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas dove across the line to win a thrilling gold medal over favorite Allyson Felix of the U.S., winning in a time 49.44 seconds. Felix was second in 49.51 seconds.
Olympics 2016: Shaunae Miller dives across line to beat Allyson Felix for gold medal in women’s 400 meters
Miller dove across the line in a thrilling finish.
Shericka Jackson of Jamaica was third in 49.85 seconds.
Miller jumped out from the gun quickly, and led by daylight coming into the final 100 meters — but Felix was charging hard. Both runners dug deep in the final meters, and Miller could barely hang on in the race’s final moments, diving for the line in exhaustion. It was enough to win as she held off Felix by 0.07 seconds.
For Felix, it wasn’t the gold she was hoping for, but it was still her seventh medal. Felix has been in the spotlight since winning the silver medal in the 200 meters at the 2004 Olympics in Athens as an 18-year-old. She came up just short of individual gold in the 200 again in Beijing, winning silver once again, but finally won the event in 2012 to assert herself as one of the best sprinters of all time. She has three more gold medals from relays — she was on the winning 4 x 400 in Beijing and London and jumped on the 4 x 100 relay in 2012, too.
She had originally planned on racing for double gold in Rio — hoping to run in the 200, too — but an ankle injury kept her from qualifying in the 200. Felix will have a shot at winning one more gold in the 4 x 400 meter relay in Rio.
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Allyson Felix on her intense training leading up to Rio
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