Athletics is one of the most anticipated sports at the Olympic Games every four years. Although speed tests last a few seconds, they usually give fans some of the most spectacular moments of the entire summer jousting. One of the last great photography finals in this discipline was starred by the Bahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo and the American Allyson Felix in the 400 meter dash in Rio 2016.
At that time, Miller-Uibo arrived at 22 as a great promise of American athletics, while Felix, 30, was presented as one of the best sprinters in history. However, the youngest was imposed on the legend and got the gold medal in the aforementioned test, with which it became a reality.
Now, five years later, the native of the Bahamas arrives at Tokyo 2020 as a figure and rival to beat in the 400m. But this is not the only thing that has changed; In both personal and sporting terms, the conditions in which the sprinter arrives at the event in the nation of the rising sun are very different from those she experienced prior to London 2012 or Rio 2016.
Today, Miller-Uibo, who until before 2017 was just Miller, is married to Estonian Maicel Uibo, also a figure in athletics in his country. The 28-year-old won bronze in heptathlon at the Birmingham World Indoor Championships in 2018 and silver at the Doha World Athletics Championships in 2019. In the latter, in addition to celebrating the result of his partner, the native of Bahamas he shone in the 400 meters, also getting the second-place medal.
After being a gold medalist in Rio 2016 and imposing different records in more than one competition, but still with the aim of achieving more triumphs and records in speed tests, Miller-Uibo does not rule out participating in the heptathlon. She has followed her husband’s training for this discipline and wants to give it a try before retiring.
The Bahamian arrives at Tokyo 2020 with two world records in non-Olympic events: 21.76 seconds in the 200 meters and 35.35 seconds in the 300m. The first of those mentioned is a street competition that consists of running that distance in a straight line; its popularity has grown during the last decade, and the main events of the same take place in Manchester, England and Boston, United States.
Five years ago Miller-Uibo snatched the gold medal from Allyson Felix by less than a second apart. Before reaching the finish line, the Bahamian sprinter stretched, in what seemed an effort to ensure victory, but which, according to the same protagonist of the event, was the last effort of her legs not to fall. Now, as one of the top athletics figures in America, she is ready to bring down her rivals but without losing that top spot.