Allyson Felix almost had it. She almost got that gold medal in the 400-meter dash. The four-time Olympian and most decorated female track athlete of all-time earned her seventh medal of the 2016 Rio Olympics after earning silver.
The Bahamas’ Shanaue Miller ended up winning gold after she literally dove towards the finish line.
A win is a win and sometimes you have to do whatever it takes to get that win, especially in the Olympics. Miller led the pack in the final stretch but Felix came charging up on her left side, so Miller did what was necessary to secure a gold medal. She ended up holding Felix off in the end with a personal best time of 49.44 seconds, just 0.07 ahead of Felix who finished with a time of 49.51.
Here’s the race that every1 is talking about tonight. Shaune Miller fell over the finish line, beating Allyson Felix pic.twitter.com/LHsPHNXPGt
— theJasmineBRAND.com (@thejasminebrand) August 16, 2016
The bronze medal belongs to Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson who finished not too far from Felix and Miller at 49.85 seconds.
Felix, now 30 years old entered the Rio games tied with Jackie Joyner-Kersee for the most medals and also tied with Sanya Richards-Ross and Evelyn Ashford for the most gold (4). Now, Felix can say she’s the best female competitor by the way of overall medals in track and field and with a win Friday in the 4×400-meter relay, she can overcome both Richards-Ross and Ashford for the most gold.
Felix’s longevity is also elite. Her first Olympics was at the Athens Games in 2004 when she was just 18 years old. She medalled in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012, but until Rio, never in an individual 400. Her original plan was to try the 200/400 double in the Rio games but finished 0.01 seconds short, behind Jenna Prandini at the U.S. Olympic trials.
Many still believe that Felix still remains behind Joyner-Kersee, because all six of her medals were in individual events. Nevertheless, Felix’s accomplishments won’t go unnoticed. A kid who’s nickname was “Chicken Legs” because of her bony stature was underestimated, but in result of that became one of, if not the best female track athlete of all-time. She’s won a total of four gold medals and three silver. She has one of the best stories in the Olympics and her journey isn’t over yet.
