Shaunae Miller dives for 400m gold, upsets American Felix

By Nick Murray, CBC Sports

Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas won gold in dramatic fashion in the women's 400-metre final Monday night in Rio. 

• Shawn Barber eliminated from pole vault final
• SCHEDULE: Track and field at Rio 2016

With 50 metres to go, Miller had the reigning world champion — Allyson Felix — gaining on her. And on a wet, rainy night at the Olympic stadium, Miller took a leap of faith at the finish line, diving and sliding along the track to upset the American with only 7-100ths of a second separating the two athletes.

• WATCH: Bahamian Shaunae Miller dives across the finish line to capture gold in women's 400m

Miller set a personal best, winning in 49.44 seconds. Felix finished in 49.51, while Jamaica's Shericka Jackson won bronze in 49.85.

"I don't know what happened. My mind just went blank," Miller said. "The only thing I was thinking (about) was the gold medal, and the next thing I know, I was on the ground."

Miller didn't get up for several minutes after taking the leap, laying on her back catching her breath and almost in disbelief in what just happened.

Her first sign she'd won came from the stands, from a familiar voice.

"I heard my mom screaming," Miller said. "When I heard her screaming, I was like, `OK, I had to have won the race.' "

Miller came out strong in Lane 7, and never gave up her lead. She faded coming down the final stretch, but held off Felix, who quickly closed the gap in Lane 4.

Felix's silver is her seventh Olympic medal, making her the most decorated American female track and field Olympian. Among her accolades include gold medals in the 200, the 4x100 and the 4x400 relay teams at the 2012 London Olympics.

Kenya's Rudisha defends 800 gold

Kenya's David Lekuta Rudisha is once again the Olympic champion in the men's 800.

• WATCH: David Lekuta Rudisha wins gold in men's 800-metre race

The current world-record holder cruised to his second career gold medal in Rio on Monday, winning in one minute 42.15 seconds to defend his title.

"I am so excited. It is the greatest moment of my career," said Rudisha, who's suffered a string of injuries since London 2012.

"It's been very difficult. I have stayed focused and positive. My coach has been great and given me hope."

Algeria's Taoufik Makhloufi won silver in 1:42.61, a national record, while American Clayton Murphy won bronze with a personal best 1:42.93, winning his country's first medal in the 800 since Johnny Gray 1992.

Rudisha ran in the middle of the pack for the first half of the race, while fellow Kenyan Alfred Kipketer came flying out of the blocks, running the first 400 in 49.23. He would finish seventh.

With the win, Rudisha became the first man since since New Zealand's Peter Snell in 1964 to successfully defend the Olympic 800 title.

Canadians Watson, Montcalm advance in women's 400m hurdles.

Sage Watson and Noelle Montcalm each advanced to the semifinals in the women's 400 hurdles, both finishing second in their respective heats.

Watson, from Medicine Hat, Alta., ran a 55.93, while Montcalm, from Belle River, Ont., ran a 56.07.

Toronto's Chanice Chase-Taylor did not qualify for Tuesday's semifinal after tripping over the final hurdle in her heat race.

Jamaica's Carter given second chance amid rain following disqualification

Jamaica's Deuce Carter advanced to the semi-finals of the Olympic 110-metre hurdles at the second attempt on Monday after he was allowed to take part in a re-run heat after rain played havoc with the competition.

Jamaica's Omar McLeod splashed through the puddles to win the first heat but compatriot Carter, completely thrown by running in rain for the first time, was disqualified from his heat after hitting a hurdle and going out of his lane.

More rain eventually led to the suspension of the heats but not before the first two had been run in what McLeod described as "atrocious" conditions.

"I was trying my hardest to console him but he was really devastated," said McLeod, the gold medal favourite. "I can just imagine how he feels, it's his first Olympics and he had the ability to make the final. It's heartbreaking to be honest."

However, organizers decided that Carter and seven other athletes who failed to qualify by place from the first two heats would be allowed to run again in a heat after all the other scheduled races had been completed.

"This decision was taken to ensure fairness, because the conditions for heats one and two were dramatically different than the other heats," the IAAF said in a statement.

Carter duly won the re-run in 13.50 seconds, though he looked thoroughly miserable about the whole thing despite his unusual reprieve.

With files from Reuters