Centro: least deserving Olympic gold medalist of all time??

easy answer wrote:

lllllllll wrote:

In that final this man beat :

- Kiprop (Olympic gold, 3x WC gold)

- Makhloufi (Olympic gold, 2x Olympic silver, WC silver)

- Willis (2x Olympic medalist)

- Souleiman (1:42.9 800 / 3:29.6 1500)

- Iguider (3:28.8 1500)

He's a legend forever and always.

This. And only this.

Nothing else needs to be said. Respect to the Gold Medalist Centrowotz.

No way. He preped for that gold with world championship medal winning performances in the years prior. Then, Leo set the bar high four years before, and Centro ran every step of that race with a bold plan to win it, and pulled it off. No other American has done that in an Olympic 1500m final. Ryuan got tripped by a scrub runner in the heats while running at the back of the pack when he should have been at the front in charge. Then, Kieno totally outclassed him four years later. Scott had a bold plan, but couldn’t pull it off. At least he tried to win it though. Webb, Falcone, etc. could even get themselves to an Olympic final.

Centro is an absolute legend for winning that race. He took control and made the whole field run his race. He outclassed and outsmarted everyone I’m that race. That’s what the Olympic 1500m final is all about. They are all good, within a second or two of each other in PRs, so the win goes to the best racer. Centro is forever an Olympic 1500m champion, and he deserved to win that race because he was the bravest and smartest.

Centro is a legend in his own mind.

Doped against doped, he won. Gold medalist now and forever.

SDSU Aztec wrote:

.......... wrote:

Not really though

Tell that to Steve Scott, Jim Ryun and Alan Webb.

Hey Steve, Jim and Alan: no serious runner gives a hill of boogers about gold medals. Who won that GOAT contest on this site a while back? The issue is settled.

Every one of you set records and went fast. Centro's moment of glory was so slow I still suspect it was a fix. Nike has that much clout.

With you on Bradbury and I’d add Christian Laettner. Wasn’t even the best college player at the time. Did feel for him, though, at the Dream Team HoF induction.

Laettner was a towel boy. He won a team award not an individual gold. They needed another big body that could guard two positions in practice that's why he was picked. And he barely even got in on practice.

He ran brilliantly in that final - but I agree, he hasn't garnered the recognition that he deserves.

Keino's gold WAS tactical. He was something like 0-49 against Ryun prior to that race, and Ryun hadn't lost in 3 years.

Keino had tried everything: Going from 100, 300, 400, and 600 and various races, and none paid off. Finally in Mexico City he decided to take it from the bell. Ryan still closed in 54 high that day, and had Keino not gotten out so hard (54-something first lap!!) Ryun still may have prevailed.

Lots of arguments both ways: Ryun had mono prior to Olympics, while Keino had the advantage of training at altitude. But few remember Keino's difficult Olympics up to that point. He had severe pain from a gall bladder infection and already had a 10,000m and 5000m in his legs (although he was DQ'd after finishing the 10km as he had laid on the track with two laps to go due to the stomach pain). Then something happened with transportation and he had to run to the stadium on the day of the race.

Ryun actually calls that race one of his best ever. It just so happens that Keino ran potentially the greatest 1500m race ever.

Any Olympic Champion is great. There's no minimizing that incredible accomplishment. You don't luck into winning a gold medal.

Olympics doesn't care about your PRs and World Records. It cares about peeking at the right time in your career. No such thing as an overrated Gold Medal.

Careful with that Axe Eugene wrote:

He ran brilliantly in that final - but I agree, he hasn't garnered the recognition that he deserves.

That is the thrust of my point. American wins gold in a marquee event and the public seems to care relatively little. He could probably cruise the aisles of Safeway in Eugene at most any hour and go unrecognized. I think it has to be because fewer Americans are consciously aware of the achievement. Of course it's still a gold medal and of course nobody can take it away and of course he used the right tactics to win it.

He ran the heats and got into the final. When the gun went off in the final he was able to cover 1500 metres faster than anyone else in the race. Whether he ran 3:26 or 4:26 doesn't matter. It's only where you finish.

Centro results in majors

2011 World Champs - 3rd, behind Kiprop and Kiplagat

2012 Olympics - 4th, missed a medal by 0.04

2013 World Champs - 2nd, behind Kiprop

2015 World Champs - 8th

So with the exception of 2015, he was incredibly consistent in majors, and winning one could hardly be a surprise, and is also deserved. Controlled the race brilliantly, and won it when he snuck through on the inside with 450m to go.

As a non-American, I can't believe how he doesn't get the credit he deserved.

Gabe Jennings's Teeth wrote:

Excluding doped to the gills gold medalists, though microdosing isn't exactly doing it clean. If Jim Ryun had won gold, he'd be on a level with Shorter and Joanie, a beloved and iconic hero. (He's still a legend, don't get me wrong.)

Same for Mary Slaney. And yet Centro doesn't rate with any of these names, seemingly. It's like his gold was a lark and few put any stock in it. Maybe it's just not as important to sports fans or the general public like it was in the '60s, '70s, or '80s. I suppose coming in the wake of Michael Phelps didn't help.

No because he's still a good runner and put in a really good effort.

Centro is my hero, he prooved to the world that someone without talent (like me) can win.

Star wrote:

Ever heard of Peter Rono?

You think he deserved his 1500m Gold in 1988 more than Centro?

You think Peter Rono didn't deserve his win?

Look dude or dudette, he won the medal, that's what matters. That the race turned out slow and gave him an advantage, such is life. You are just jealous.