During the women's 400-meter dash, Allyson Felix came in second place after Shaunae Miller, winning the silver medal and becoming the most decorated American female track and field athlete of all time. It was an extremely close race; Felix came in second to The Bahamas' Miller by less than a tenth of a second. Photos of the end of the race — which are now going viral — show Miller diving over the finish line for the gold as Felix approached right behind her. The moment was unique in its own right and entirely unexpected.
Miller won the race with a time of 49.44 seconds, and Felix finished up with a time of 49.51 seconds. Jamaica's Shericka Jackson came in third at 49.85 seconds, clinching the bronze. Felix's second-place finish resulted in her seventh career Olympic medal — she has previously won four gold medals and two silvers. The 2016 Games in Rio mark 30-year-old Felix's fourth time competing in the Olympics. She first competed in Athens when she was 18, where she won a silver medal in the 200-meter race. She came in second place again in Beijing in the same event, before winning the gold in London, at which point she had finally become the favorite to win.
But despite her previous 200-meter accomplishments, an ankle injury prevented Felix from competing in the 200-meter race in Rio. She told the Los Angeles Times that it was "heartbreaking" not being able to defend her Olympic title in her favorite race, but her incredible performance in the 400-meter dash gave her a chance to make history all the same.
"Definitely I had to refocus," Felix told the Los Angeles Times. "I was disappointed with my 200 performance at trials but I just had to put everything in perspective with what's happened to me this year and just be grateful to even be on the Olympic team and go after this new challenge."
According to The Huffington Post, Felix is expected to compete in the women's 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays later this week. If she wins medals in both of these races, she will have nine in total and tie with Jamaica's Merlene Ottey for most Olympic medals won by a female track and field competitor.
