When Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas dove across the finish to beat Team USA's Allyson Felix in the 400-meter final on Monday night, it had plenty of people angry and asking, "Um, can you do that?"
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Sorry, Team USA fans, but it's totally OK to take a dive in track events. It's just not a very good idea.
SEE ALSO:Shaunae Miller literally dove for gold to beat Allyson Felix in RioHere are the official rules, per NBC Sports:
The finish: The first athlete whose torso (as distinguished from the head, neck, arms, legs, hands or feet) reaches the vertical plane of the closest edge of the finish line is the winner.
So, while diving would seem to give you a huge advantage, stretching out your fingers doesn't do you any good. It's all about where your torso is when you cross the finish line. Miller's torso was juuust ahead of Felix's torso at end of the race, as this graphic from NBC shows.
Still, diving forward seems like it could provide an edge -- but, in most cases, it actually slows you down, as Olympic veteran Lolo Jones explained on Twitter:
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Michael Johnson, who has won a few gold medals himself, backed up the assertion that diving is bad strategy:
Tweet may have been deleted
Look at it again, and it certainly doesn't look like something Miller planned:
Tweet may have been deleted
She told the Associated Press: "I don't know what happened. My mind just went blank. The only thing I was thinking (about) was the gold medal, and the next thing I know, I was on the ground."
Basically, Miller experienced the luckiest fall in Olympic history. She won gold, Felix won silver to claim the record for most medals in U.S. women's track history, and we all got to make jokes on the internet.
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
(责任编辑：知識)
Richard Branson 'thought he was going to die' in bike accident
Astronaut in space snaps dramatic photo of the full moon caught in a sunset
You can relive the Battle of the Bastards with these 'Game of Thrones' wallpapers
Spain is coming for Gibraltar after Brexit, just like it said it would
This coloring book is here for all your relationship goalsHow Hyperloop One went off the rails
In December 2014, an engineer with the unlikely name Brogan BamBrogan was in the driveway of his cla
...[详细]Commentator reacting to Iceland's winning goal is what pure happiness sounds like
This might be greatest piece of sports commentary you'll ever listen to -- even if you can't underst
...[详细]You can relive the Battle of the Bastards with these 'Game of Thrones' wallpapers
Spoilers for Game of Thronesseason six follow. Stop reading this if you didn't watch!"Battle of the
...[详细]'Legojacking' hijacks real life with Lego to create amazing art works
Letting our imaginations run wild with Lego seemed so easy as a child.It's something most of us have
...[详细]Fyvush Finkel, Emmy winner for 'Picket Fences,' dies at 93
NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Fyvush Finkel, the plastic-faced Emmy Award-winning character actor whos
...[详细]Global coral bleaching event to hit U.S. hard, with no end in sight, scientists warn
The ongoing coral bleaching event that has killed or severely injured reefs from the Great Barrier R
...[详细]Katy Perry's perfume is called Mad Love. Totally not a Taylor Swift dig!
Taylor Swift's feud with Kanye West has been in the news lately, but her feud with Katy Perry is sti
...[详细]Beyoncé made time in her busy schedule for a joke during the NBA Finals
Queen Bey is many things -- musically-gifted, fiercely talented, fashionable and even...funny.During
...[详细]Fiji's men's rugby sevens team has made history by defeating Great Britain and claiming the country'
...[详细]Brexit: British researchers worried about brain drain
The state of science in the European Union has been thrown into uncertainty after the United Kingdom
...[详细]Balloon fanatic Tim Kaine is also, of course, very good at harmonica
'The Bachelorette' dreamboat Wells Adams really, really loves dogs
