Bahamas athlete Shaunae Miller dives of the finish line to win the gold medal in the Women’s 400m final ahead of silver medalist Allyson Felix of the United States and bronze medalist Shericka Jackson of Jamaica on Day 10 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on August 15, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Miller came out of the blocks with a big lead on Felix, but as she approached the finish line, she seemed to run out of gas, with Felix breathing down her neck in the last few meters. So, Miller dove her torso crossing the finish line at 49.44 seconds, seven hundredths of a second before Felix’s 49.51.
The race ended with Felix on her feet, and Miller on the ground looking spent. If Miller had stayed upright, she would have lost. If Felix had dove, she could have won instead. Miller’s dive was clearly a move of desperation.
In the wake of Miller’s win, there was a lingering question from fans watching at home of how legal her move was. But it was completely legal. In fact, the rules of track and field state that you hit the finish line when your torso, which is considered different from your head or arms, crosses the finish line.
This is why runners lean forward in close races to get their torsos over the threshold.
