Annapolis native Matthew Centrowitz Jr. successfully fullfilled his quest for an Olympic medal, earning a gold in Saturday night’s finals of the men’s 1500-meter run, the end of a 100-year absence for the U.S.in the medal round of the race.
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Medals came from rare and unexpected places for American runners on the last day of the track and field portion of the Rio Games, although they also tapped the reliable gold mine of the women’s 1,600-meter relay for a sixth straight Olympic championship in that event and Allyson Felix’s ninth career medal.
Makhloufi held on for silver, while Nicholas Willis of New Zealand won bronze.
Matthew Centrowitz has become the first US athlete since 1908 to win gold at an Olympic 1500m on Saturday (August 20) at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics!
Centrowitz grew up in a running family – he followed in his dad’s footsteps by running at OR and making the Olympics twice. Bulgaria’s Mirela Demirev won silver, while two-time world champion Blanka Vlasic of Croatia took home bronze while struggling through injuries.
Mel Sheppard was the last American to win the race, at the 1908 London Games.
“It was a disappointment, but I can’t say that was motivation coming into this”, Centrowitz said.
“I saw my dad on my victory lap and I yelled ‘are you kidding me?!’ and he yelled back ‘are you effing kidding me?!’ and it kept going back and forth”. It is the closest to the podium but for many athletes, the furthest from feeling a sense of true accomplishment.
After controlling the race from the first lap, the American, who had been fourth in London 2012, finished in 3:50.00. Great Britain continued its strong effort on the track with a bronze, anchored by Christine Ohuruogu’s strong leg.
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Abdalaati Iguider tried to take the lead with 400m to go, Kiprop tried to snag it with 200m to go, but Centrowitz never relinquished the lead, and with just under 100m to go, finally opened up a half-meter gap on a hard-charging pack. He is the American 10,000 meter record holder (26:48.0) and won five NCAA titles (cross country, indoor 3,000 and 5,000 meters, outdoor 5,000 and 10,000 meters) as a senior at OR in 2008-09. His UO teammate Ashton Eaton has won the last two Olympic decathlons, Otis Davis captured gold in the 400 meters and the 4×400 relay in 1960, and Joaquim Cruz won gold in the 800 meters for Brazil in 1984. “I’m saying this is the most determined, unselfish team I’ve ever been on – hands down”, the four-time gold medalist said. He won gold with a time that was a full 15 seconds slower than he posted four years ago at the London Games.
