Jesus Christ, even back in the 70s prefontaine would get sh*t for his outspoken behavior and personality in general.
Centro won USAs, and has also won an Olympic gold. He can do whatever the f*ck he wants, and he wasn’t even being cocky doing so, just celebrating, like when a player makes a touchdown or a soccer player scoring a goal.
Sure, the “scandavian” did beat him, but honestly... who gives a sh*t? What matters are the races that COUNT, (USAS, Worlds, Olympics, etc), as long as centro is performing there he’s doing his job.
And also, if you haven’t noticed, his races leading up to USAs haven’t been spectacular in general, not just when he lost to ingebristen. It’s all part of the process as a pro athlete, as they gear their races for June and July instead of April and may like high schoolers and collegiates