Читать книгу Indiana University Olympians. From Leroy Samse to Lilly King онлайн

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Coincidentally, Neville drew lane 9, again putting him on the outside, unable to see those he was racing. At least, he was unable to see them until it mattered. As he approached the finish, out of the corner of his eye, he saw others nearby. He made a hasty decision. He dove. He slid across the wet track as a baseball player would sliding head first into second base.

“I did it because it was the only thing I could think to do in the last second,” Neville said. “God might have pushed me over.”

Merritt won gold in 43.75 over Wariner’s 44.74, representing the biggest margin at an Olympics since 1896. Neville was a close third in 44.80, and .04 ahead of fourth. It was the Americans’ fifth sweep of 400-meter medals, following 1904, 1968, 1988, and 2004. Neville became the Hoosiers’ first medalist in an individual track and field since hurdler Willie May won a silver in 1960.

Neville’s was the slowest medal-winning time since 1980. That was irrelevant. So were the bruised chest and scrapes from his dive onto the track.