Diamond League women’s 1,500m ends with wild, sprawling finish

I got some good shots at the Weltklasse Zurich diamond league meet last night! But I haven’t had time to download and edit yet. Got back to hotel late and now I’m up early for a 12 hour flight back to the US. I’m dying to see what I got. I will start posting photos as soon as I can. At least another day. Diamond league meets are a blast! You should go and check one out! Thanks Europe!

A photo posted by jeffcohenphoto Track and Field (@jeffcohenphoto) on Sep 1, 2016 at 10:35pm PDT

The final women’s 1,500m of the Diamond League circuit arguably couldn’t have had a closer finish.

In the final stretch of the Zurich race, Great Britain’s Laura Muir overtook Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon and appeared to be in the clear to win. American Shannon Rowbury showed her experience with a sneaky move on the inside resulting in a photo finish.

As the two crossed the line in a near-identical time, Rowbury appeared to put her arm out. Rowbury, who won the race by 0.07 seconds fell to the ground after out-leaning Muir for the victory. Jenny Simpson, the fourth-place finisher also ended up on the track afterwards.

Despite the arm reach, the results stood and no protest was made. Muir, who finished second in 3:57.85, won the overall Diamond League circuit in the women’s 1,500m earning US$40,000. The Diamond League is a circuit of elite competitions with results from each race contributing to a cumulative score. Zurich was the final event that featured a women’s 1,500m race.

The finishing moments can be found below. Note that the video is queued for the 4:25 mark of the race, which shows the final seconds of the race.

Video

A similar finish happened at the Rio Olympics when Shaunae Miller crossed the line in the women’s 400m with what appeared to be a dive. Some were vocal in saying that a dive across the line should not be allowed despite a dive being considered a slower means of finishing. Crossing the finish line sprawled out is completely within the rules.

RELATED: The Internet can’t stop talking about the 400m runner’s lunge for Olympic gold.

In Rowbury’s case, the fall happened after crossing the finish line. Runners’ legs sometimes give out due to an excessive lean (a runner’s time is measured by their torso) and because of lactic acid buildup in their legs and fatigue from racing.

Zurich: Rowbury Wins 1500m But Muir Takes Trophy #DiamondLeague @WeltklasseZH https://t.co/WgWLLO9z0z pic.twitter.com/j4llvG7nW5

— Wanda Diamond League (@Diamond_League) September 1, 2016

In other Thursday action, Canadians Melissa Bishop and Mo Ahmed were among the runners at the Swiss event. Bishop finished eighth the women’s 800m (1:58.84) and Ahmed too finished eighth in the men’s 5,000m (13:20.31). Both are national record holders in the distances they contested on Thursday in Switzerland.

Men’s 5,000m

Women’s 800m

The Brussels Diamond League will wrap up the circuit on Sept. 9.