On Monday in Rio de Janeiro, U.S.听sprinter Allyson Felix was robbed of the gold in the 400-meter sprint when Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas dove head-first over the finish line seven-hundredths of a second ahead of her. Bahamians have celebrated, while many spectators were left confused, wondering, 鈥淲ait,听you can dive across the finish line?!鈥
Miller鈥檚 coach later told reporters that 鈥渉er legs gave out at the line.鈥澨鼴ut no matter: the rules say sprinters win when their torso crosses the finish line before their opponent鈥檚鈥攊t says nothing of their head, arms, or feet. And so when she dove, Miller鈥檚 torso finished at 49.44 seconds, a personal best, and faster than Felix's听time of 49.51.
In losing the race, Felix听suffered听her second defeat to a methodical, desperate, or clumsy opponent, depending on who you ask: another U.S. sprinter, Jenna Prandini, when she dove听at the finish line of听the Olympic trials in Oregon.听Felix has had tough luck, but she鈥檚 not the only athlete to lose under controversial circumstances. Here are听some of the most dubious, unconventional, or otherwise memorable finish line moments.
Men鈥檚 Ski Cross Quarter-Final: Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics
Sweden鈥檚 Victor Oehling Norberg was in the lead approaching the final jump of听the听men鈥檚 freestyle ski cross quarterfinals at the听2014听Sochi听Winter Olympics when he lost control and crashed, causing Russia鈥檚 Egor Korotkov and Finland鈥檚 Jouni Pellinen to wipe out as well. Switzerland鈥檚听Armin听Niederer, who moments before was in third,听skied off to the side to victory. By extending his arms while听careening down the hill,听Korotkov inched his way to the second qualifying spot past Oehling and Jouni in one of the more dramatic photo finishes we鈥檝e seen.
2006 Chicago Marathon
While Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya won the Lasalle Bank Chicago Marathon in 2006, it came at a price, thanks to a slippery finish-line plastic decal, which听caused the runner to slip, fall, and hit his head on the asphalt. Cheruiyot was sent to the Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was treated and told he suffered a bruise to the brain. At the medal ceremony, two days later, Cheruiyot said, 鈥淚 just fell down. I was speeding and I just fell鈥ut I won the race.鈥 The four-time winner of the Boston Marathon has since told reporters that he suffers from headaches.
2016 Tour de France
https://youtube.com/watch?v=MEx2T6YDb58
British cyclist Chris Froome turned into a听sprinter last month when he was forced to run after his bike was destroyed听during Stage 12 of the Tour de France.听Fans had crowded a portion of听of the course at听Mont Ventoux and forced a motorcycle into the way of the competitors, causing Froome and听Richie Porte to crash and hit the asphalt. Froome was sprawled on the ground when a police motorcycle ran over his bike, leaving him no choice but to run towards the finish line (although he later was given a replacement bike).听He was听unsurprisingly听overtaken by opponents, but a review concluded that he with him keeping the yellow jersey.
Men鈥檚 100-meter Butterfly Final: 2008 Beijing Olympics
https://youtube.com/watch?v=0KLy-NnTD2o
Even Michael Phelps鈥 the 100-meter butterfly final in the 2008 Olympics. And they were听right. Milorad Cavic of Serbia had technically听touched the wall first鈥攂ut not hard enough to register with the Omega timing system. Phelps won by 0.01 of a second due to the extra force generated by听the听last half-stroke he took before reaching the wall. The Serbian delegation filed a protest, but ultimately conceded after reviewing the tape. : 鈥淚鈥檓 stoked with what happened. I don鈥檛 want to fight this. People will be bringing this up for years and saying [I] won that race. If we got to do this again, I would win it.鈥
Cavic got his 100-meter butterfly rematch at the 2012 Olympics, but did not place. Meanwhile, Phelps took gold.
2012 Women鈥檚 100-meter Olympic Trials
In 2012, Allyson Felix (a seeming veteran of controversy) was neck-in-neck with Jeneba Tarmoh down the stretch, fighting听for third place in the women鈥檚 100-meter Olympic trials. After crossing, the听scoreboard showed that Tarmac finished the race in 11.067 seconds and Felix in 11.068. But twenty-minutes later, in a press conference, the USA Track and Field public affairs officer announced the result was changed to a tie鈥攁 dead heat. The head finish line judge said he could not base his decision off the finish photo, so he made his call by interpolating that Tarmoh鈥檚 chest had hit the line first, using data points. A second photo finish judge didn鈥檛 disagree with the interpolation, but thought it would be challenged given the high stakes of the Olympic trials. The following week, in school yard fashion, the two sprinters were asked to compete in a 100-meter runoff race. Tarmoh, upset with the decision, pulled out, opening a spot for Felix to compete.
Molly Huddle:听IAAF 2015 World Championships and 2016听New York City Half Marathon
https://youtube.com/watch?v=5v5GKFUYkwA
The American distance runner Molly Huddle听is a veteran of chaotic finishes. Last year, while approaching the finish line of the 10,000 meter听world championship in Beijing, she听slowed down and raised her arms in celebration听just as another American, Emily Infeld, passed her for the win.
In March, Huddle won the New York City Half Marathon, but听was criticized for appearing to force听Kenyan runner听Joyce Chepkirui out of her way to victory. , 鈥淭hat was really hard to get over. Having my integrity questioned based on something that was accidental, incidental contact.鈥
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Huddle broke the American record in the 10,000 meters at the Olympics last week. The run was bittersweet鈥攕he placed sixth behind suspect听world record setters鈥攂ut she garnered support from fans and her teammate, , 鈥淚鈥檓 so excited for her. She鈥檚 been working so hard for so long. She鈥檚 a class act, phenomenal, great competitor, just an awesome person, I鈥檓 really, really stoked for her. It鈥檚 incredible to see that.鈥
We also congratulate Huddle. But we caution she never throw up her arms again when crossing the finish.