After Wayde van Niekerk’s astonishing performance in the men’s 400 metre final, in which he demolished Michael Johnson’s world record, the women’s race had a lot to live up to in the Rio Olympics.
It didn’t disappoint as Shaunae Miller finished the race horizontally to defeat American Allyson Felix, six-time Olympic medallist and reigning world champion over the quarter mile.
The Bahamian got the better start, and attempted to pull away exiting the final bend, at which point Felix’s experience began to tell. Slowly but surely, the 30 year-old reeled in the young upstart attempting to come between her and a historic 200-400 Olympic double.
In the dying seconds of the race, Miller’s legs seemed to give up, and she threw herself forwards in an instinctive dive for the line, hurling herself without any apparent concern for her own well being, hand clutching for the finish and her first Olympic title.
She managed it, and Felix’s tilt for gold was ended with a photo finish.
What a scalp to take: Felix is a track legend, nicknamed ‘chicken legs’ by her American teammates for her slender build, with 13 world medals and a 47.72 split in last summer’s 4×400 relay final. A star of the sport, and much-loved competitor, leading to a divided response to Miller’s efforts.
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