Rio 2016 Olympics day ten highlight: Shaunae Miller dives

Image: Twitter

Ten days in, and these Olympics have yet to become embroiled with controversy – outside of the typically uncouth nature of the IOC, general lack of safety in Rio, and overall disparaging state of affairs in and around these Olympics – but boy did Day 10 deliver. Normally, it might not be the best idea to highlight the proverbial “lowlights” of Day 1- of competition, but in all honesty, Americans are sore losers. So considering the fact Simone Biles fell short of gold in her balance beam bid, there was no joyous celebration of America’s greatest gymnast, its time to take a look at the substitute highlight for the that serves as an American lowlight – “the dive.”

The women’s 400m race was an event that was always slated as a lock for Allyson Felix, the world champion in the event, along with the remaining field of 400m finalists. Representing the Bahamas, Shaunae Miller led for the final straight away of the race, but was losing steam in prolific fashion, with Felix more than making up for the lost space. As  Shaunae Miller ambled toward the finish line while Felix strode, making it appear though yet another come from behind win was about to take place, but in a moment of last-ditch track savvy, Shaunae Miller fell forward across the finish line.

Naturally, the Twittersphere exploded with many people cry foul against Shaunae Miller, saying that her move was “bush league” and “un-Olympian,” but even the most marginally informed track enthusiast would know that Miller’s dive was in fact a poorly timed lean that turned into a fall, supposedly. While many were quick to criticize  Shaunae Miller’s fall – intentional or not – just as many chimed in to come to the aide of Miller, including former Olympian Michael Johnson. In the end, nobody can be all that critical toward Shaunae Miller, as she’s undoubtedly realized a life long dream.

Nevertheless, the Internet being what it is, all is not lost for those of us who may have been pulling for Felix to maintain her track dominance – it appears as though our competitive lowlight has turned into a meme highlight. So with our loss come life, in the form of the bevy of dive memes that followed Miller’s exciting finish.

This article originally appeared on MensTrait.com as Olympics Day 10 highlight – Shaunae Miller dives.