Rio Olympics: Allyson Felix Wins Silver As Shaunae Miller Dives Over Finish Line, Internet Responds With Memes {VIDEO]
During the women's 400-meter final on Monday, American athlete Allyson Felix thought that she would be able to win yet another gold medal, as she quickly gained momentum to overtake her rival, Bahamas athlete Shaunae Miller. The crowd was roaring, with everyone expecting the American star to snatch the victory.
On the final meter of the race, however, Felix's hopes were dashed, as her opponent, quite literally, dived for the finish line. Miller's official time on the race was 49.44 seconds. Felix's time was 49.51.
As the official results of the race were announced, Felix was poker-faced. After all, had the race been at least a meter longer, she would have cleanly won the event. She eventually walked to over to Miller, who was still lying on the field, and tried to help her up.
As for Miller, she was too overcome with emotion to even have the energy to get up. She pulled off both her running shoes and just stared at the sky. Eventually, Felix sat down on the track as well, pondering on the results of the race that she just lost.
"I gave it everything I had. It's deeply disappointing. I'm a competitor," Felix later said.
Felix is arguably the most decorated female track athlete in the United States right now. Previously a star sprinter, she began to compete in longer-distance events in recent years. This is one of the reasons why her loss on Monday was so bitter, as the final few seconds of the race featured Felix in her classic sprinter mode, accelerating towards the finish line.
With the race's rather controversial end, it was no surprise that netizens were quickly divided about the results of the event. In Twitter alone, many users poked fun at the fact that it was not running, but diving, that ultimately made Miller into a gold medalist.
Shaunae Miller was a little short of vertical, had good height off the board & had little splash, Gold medal diving performance #Rio2016
— JaiRich (@JaiRich) August 16, 2016
Greatest #Gold medal divers in #Olympics history: 1—Greg Louganis 2—Shaunae Miller pic.twitter.com/FCjlkHCIW4 — Justice Don Willett (@JusticeWillett) August 16, 2016
Despite the fallout from social media, however, other professional athletes have rallied behind the Miller, stating that diving for the finish line was not a form of cheating at all. Most prominent among her defenders was fellow Olympian Michael Johnson, who stated that Miller's dive was strategic.
Shaunae Miller unbelievable effort diving for the finish line to take the 400,one of the best moments of the Games so far! Amazing race!
— Michael Johnson (@MJGold) August 16, 2016
At the end of the event, one thing is clear. Felix will be haunted by that last-meter dive for many years to come.
