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VIDEO: 400m runner dives across the line to win Olympic gold

Shaunae Miller did everything to hold off Allyson Felix in the Olympic women's 400m final. That included a dive across the line.

Shaunae Miller

Anything to win.

Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas was desperate to beat Allyson Felix in the women’s 400m at the Olympic Games and dove across the line to do so. Miller stunned Felix, a four-time Olympic champion, by launching herself across the finish line to win gold on Monday evening.

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Times are measured at the torso meaning that her dive was key to holding off Felix, who had a deficit in the final metres but was closing hard. Watch Miller in lane seven while Felix closes the gap from lane four. Note that she did not leave her lane nor did she impede another runner with her dive.

Video of the finish

Miller, 22, set a personal best of 49.44 as she won her first Olympic gold. Felix finished in 49.51. Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson rounded out the top-three and got on to the podium with a bronze medal performance.

The silver was Felix’s seventh medal at the Olympic Games making her the most successful American track and field athlete in history. The 30-year-old is expected to run for the U.S. in the women’s 4x400m relay later these Games.

The Rio Games are Miller’s first trip to the Olympics. Interestingly, the dive at the line was almost identical to a finishing moment earlier in the night. A Brazilian in the 110m hurdles heats dove across the line to qualify for the semifinals. See video of that here.

RESULTS

15/08/2016 16:05 (17:05 LOCAL TIME)
POS BIB ATHLETE MARK DETAIL REACTION TIME
1 361 Shaunae MILLERBAH 49.44 PB 0.155
2 1339 Allyson FELIXUSA 49.51 SB 0.177
3 890 Shericka JACKSONJAM 49.85 0.176
4 1347 Natasha HASTINGSUSA 50.34 0.161
5 1341 Phyllis FRANCISUSA 50.41 0.219
6 895 Stephenie Ann MCPHERSONJAM 50.97 0.133
7 1315 Olha ZEMLYAKUKR 51.24 0.183
8 863 Libania GRENOTITA 51.25 0.149

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