His 3:34 yesterday might not look like much on paper, since he finished far back in the pack. It's a respectable time though and that result confirms one thing: Centro will be a contender at Worlds once again. Championship finals are unique competitive environments that cater to his particular skill set better than perhaps anyone in the game right now. What he lacks in time trial chops, he makes up for in tactical acumen.
The best sports analogy I have to describe Centro's ability to be a consistent factor in Olympic/WC 1500s, while being good but not amazing in other saturations, is Nadal at the French, where the clay surface suits his skill set better than anyone in the world.
Maybe my American bias is clouding my reasoning, but the fact that he's always competitive in finals despite having a good (3:30) but by no means remarkable PR (Andy Weating has run nearly as fast) seems noteworthy.
Thoughts?