It’s not every day you see an Olympic sprinter finish a race in a dive.
In a controversial upset, Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas soared – belly first – over the finish line to win the women’s 400-metre final Monday in Rio, preventing American Allyson Felix from capturing her fifth Olympic gold medal.
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Although Miller started the race with a big lead on Felix, the defending champion was hot on her heels approaching the finish line.
That’s when a winded Miller dove, throwing herself over the line and collapsing to the track.
Miller finished in 49.44 seconds – just seven-hundredths of a second ahead of Felix.
“I don’t know what happened. My mind just went blank. The only thing I was thinking (about) was the gold medal, and the next thing I know, I was on the ground,” she said after the race.
The dive immediately caused waves on social media, with many Team U.S.A fans accusing Miller of cheating.
But the move is completely legal.
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According to NBC the official rules state, “the first athlete whose torso (as distinguished from the head, neck, arms, legs, hands or feet) reaches the vertical plane of the closest edge of the finish line is the winner.” That’s why you often see Olympic runners lean forward when crossing the finish line.
Instant replay graphics show Miller’s torso crossed the finish line just ahead of Felix, which is why she was crowned the winner.
Whether or not this tactic would work every time is another matter.
U.S. track and field star Lolo Jones came to Miller’s defence on Twitter, noting that some runners have used the same tactic to win; however, she pointed out that by diving too soon a runner could lose strides, which would get them to the line faster.
This is because deceleration occurs the second a runner’s feet leave the ground.
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Renowned science expert Bill Nye pointed out a similar effect during the 2014 World Series.
Miller’s coach maintains that the dive was unintentional.
“She gave everything she had and her legs gave out at the line,” said Miller’s coach, Lance Brauman. “Was not intentional.”
In the end she suffered a few scrapes and bruises – but nothing a gold medal can’t fix.
— With a file from The Associated Press
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