Matt Centrowitz celebrates after winning gold in the men’s 1,500-meter at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on August 20, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. “Didn’t dream of actually winning”. “He can’t hold that over me”.
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I’ve covered track in eastern Idaho long enough to have met a good number of local high school athletes who admire Centrowitz, some of have attended his OR track camps.
Matthew Centrowitz Jr. took the gold in 3 minutes, 50 seconds, the first American since 1908 to finish first in the event. BBC commentators touched on my thoughts during the medal presentation: ‘I wonder how many American lads who like the 8 and the 15 have been inspired?
I will catch what I can of men’s marathon and U.S. versus Russian Federation for men’s volleyball bronze, both of which are very early.
Centrowitz has the tattoo because his father, Matt Sr., also was a 1,500 runner in the 1976 Olympics.
“Are you [expletive] kidding me?!” the elder Centrowitz yelled back.
Distance running just so happens to run in the Centrowitz family.
Matthew Centrowitz pulled off a shock victory in the men’s 1,500m final, stunning favourite Asbel Kiprop of Kenya.
“There’s nothing like it”, Centrowitz said of his win.
Cal graduate David Torrence finished in eighth place in the 5,000 meters while representing Peru, nearly 40 seconds behind victor Mo Farah of Great Britain.
It was a strategic tactic, a gamble that he’d conserve enough energy to fend off a late kick from the top challengers.
Nick Willis, who took silver at the London Games, overcame several injury-plagued seasons to snatch a bronze medal in his fourth Olympic games. “There wasn’t anyone out there who was likely to go push the race”. As the pace picked up, Blankenship faded to the inside of the track and did not recover. His compatriot Ronald Kwemoi took a tumble early in the race and Kiprot said that affected his tactics. Centrowitz was like that as well Saturday, leading nearly the entire race. He stayed at or near the front the entire way as the favorites bided their time for an all-out sprint on the final lap.
Kiprop chose to move, and motored up through the field as the pace accelerated.
While the runners started sprinting, Centrowitz showed he had plenty left in the tank and no other runner – not Kiprop, not Makhloufi – had any hope of closing the gap.
His main adversary, on paper, was the defending champion, the Algerian Taoufik Makhloufi, who in London in 2012 ran a long, unbeatable sprint and last week won silver in the 800 meter.
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Centrowitz becomes just the fourth alum of the Men of OR to win Olympic gold. It’s the position closest to the podium, but for many athletes, the furthest from a sense of true accomplishment. Middle-distance runners for the US – there are so many guys I’m honored to be mentioned with. Just run to my capability.
