Was Shaunae Miller’s Dive To Win Olympic 400m Gold Legal?

Getty

Shaunae Miller became an Internet sensation overnight after winning gold in the women’s 400m in dramatic fashion.

She looked almost guaranteed to come out second best to American world champion Allyson Felix, but Miller pulled something rather unorthodox out of the bag to clinch Olympic glory.

Getty

Shaunae began to duck for the line, only to lose her footing, stumble and somehow manage to dive over the line ahead of her rival.

You can watch the moment in all its glory here:

After clinching the gold medal, Miller said:

The only thing I was thinking was the gold medal, and the next thing I know, I was on the ground. I’ve never done it before. I have cuts and bruises, a few burns.

And as you’d expect, the Internet loved it:

But some questioned the legality of her win:

https://twitter.com/Iqra_ifm/status/765374902903906304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Unlike Miller, who was a diving virgin, home favourite Joao Vitor de Oliveira has done this a few times before and at this year’s Olympics it was no different.

The 110m hurdler looked to be heading for an early exit, when he smashed into the final obstacle and fell to the floor.

But undeterred by the dire situation laying before him, he regained his composure and slid past a couple of opponents and into the semi-final.

After the race, he said:

I always do that, it’s no accident. I broke my ribs doing it in China. People tell me not to do it, but it comes from the heart. I put myself first.

But the big question is, is this all actually legal? Well, according to the International Association of Athletics, it totally is.

In the handbook it says: “The athletes shall be placed in the order in which any part of their bodies reached the vertical plane of the nearer edge of the finish line.”

Getty

So there you have it. If a gold medal is at stake, it might be worth flinging yourself over the finish line in whatever fashion you can – but we wouldn’t recommend it.

UNILAD