When Allyson Felix and Shaunae Miller come out for the women’s 400m final at the Rio 2016 Olympics, one thing will be on their minds, to win.
For all her accolades and avalanche of titles won across past Championships, it is surprising that Felix is yet to win an individual 400m Olympic title, dating back to 2004 Athens Games when she debuted at the Olympics.
What a race it would have been if Caster Semenya happened to have carried out her initial wish to participate in both the 800m and 400m. She pulled out from the event following her coach’s decision not to let her double.
Now the women’s 400m look to be just between Felix and Miller, none other come close to these two as they look the sure bet to win.
For Felix, there won’t be an issue of schedules’ fears as she won’t be able to compete in the 200m , having missed out on qualification from the US Trials.
Although Miller might not have that Olympics pedigree yet, she is no pushover either. Making her 2nd appearance, Miller was given the honour to be Bahamas’ flagbearer in Rio, such is how her stock has risen in the country and the belief they have in her abilities.
In 2012, Miller’s inexperience showed when she stormed out of the block in the qualifying stages at the London Games and she pulled up, unable to complete the race. Four years on she must have learnt from that.
When Miller clashed with Felix last year in Beijing, it was a race that witnessed many records. Felix ran a Personal Best (PB) of 49.26s to win GOLD, the fastest time in the world since July 2012 when Russia’s Antonina Krivoshapka ran 49.16s. Miller finished 2nd in that race, and it was with a then PB of 49.67s. From last year to now, Miller has come a long way and she is now a top challenger for GOLD.
This year Miller has led the pace, running a World Leading time of 49.69s at the Nassau Invitational, with Felix narrowly taking the lead from her after racing to a time of 49.68s at the US national trials.
Both will push each other all the way to the finish line in search of glory. Whatever the case may be, we will all watch and witness a great race.
