Shaunae Miller looking like Superwoman flying over the finish line
A dispute began brewing on social networking
website Twitter.com last night, over Bahamian sprinter,
Shaunae Miller, diving over the finish line and in doing so
defeating American, Allyson Felix, for the gold medal in the
women’s 400m final at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Jamaica’s
Shericka Jackson won the bronze medal.
Shaunae Miller
Miller was leading during the race, but
Felix, who is tall with long legs, began catching up. Miller
decided to dive across the finish line for the gold medal
and won. Felix’s supporters on Twitter are calling it
cheating. Miller’s supporters are defending her stating the
same thing happened to the Bahamas in 2008, when an American
sprinter dove across the finish line to win the bronze medal
in the men’s 400m.
A photo finish for Shaunae Miller
According to the rule book, it is perfectly
legal to dive across the finish line. Miller did not violate
the rules. When asked about the finish, Miller stated, “I
just tried to give all I had. I didn’t have more to give.
The only thing going through my mind was I have to get the
gold medal. When I was on the ground I didn't know if I had
won yet until I heard my mom screaming. And when I heard her
screaming, I had to have won the race.”
The computerized version of Shaunae Miller's photo finish
Ironically, as was pointed out on Twitter,
Felix missed qualification for the 200m because another
sprinter dove across the finish line. Felix was dejected
after the race. When interviewed about the race she stated,
"It's just disappointment. I don't think I've quite had a
year this tough and I just really wanted it. It's a little
bittersweet now. I'm a competitor and I went for it and at
the moment it's just - painful." Felix is currently the most
decorated female sprinter in American history.
Tweets from Twitter.com about the race:
My tweets on my Twitter page about the race:
