Centro has run his final track race - pay your respects here

2:35:00

zzzzzzz

F

black page for Centro?

amazing career. he ran the table, which is all anyone could ever dream of. literally, a perfect score:

state champion

ncaa champion

national champion

world champion

olympic champion

This is actually wild. Probably no other American in history with this on their resume. He's a winner, and always has been. He kept the sport fun despite all of the pressure he probably felt from his dad's legacy and living up to his potential. There may not be another athlete like him. He was money at collecting medals, something we simply haven't had out of the US since I guess Lagat?

Jeremy Wariner

Please list your PRs and running accomplishments.

He should run it in 3:50

😭

He will be missed!

Centro is probably the most significant runner to me personally. When I was a sophomore in high school I really started to get into running beyond just the fast high school guys in my area/state. I remember randomly on cable they had the Pac 12 champs on and I watched the 1500, not even really knowing what the distance meant or who any of these guys were. Matt Centrowitz won it. Then a month or so later I watched USs and that same kid from UO won it again, beating Bernard Lagat (one of the few pros I did know at the time). I was a rising senior in college when I watched him win gold and it was probably one of the most exciting and emotional races I've watched. Centro was that first athlete I really felt like I followed on his rise and it also timed out with my own rise from just a kid who runs track/xc to someone who is a real nerd about the sport and has to know all the results and major players. To see that guy who won 2011 Pac 12s take gold in Rio brought tears to my eyes and I don't think I'll ever have a better experience watching a race. Thanks Centro!

he has said he's not really sure how seriously he's gonna take it. said motivation was a bit lacking this year. He traveled from camp to camp in preparing for this summer, and that helped keep him going at an appropriate level. So he could do a 2:30 type of thing, or he could do a 3 hour plus type thing.

Congrats on a great career. he gets a bit of flack for the 3:50, but

a) it was a brilliant strategy that most couldn't have pulled off.

b) if you don't believe in the face value of that gold medal on it's own, all those other medals and high placings should legitimize it for you

c) An olympic gold medal is an olympic gold medal. he was the best on planet earth when every other world class 1500 runner in the world was trying to peak at the exact same time.

Centro.

Beautiful mover, always seemed to position himself perfectly and make the right move at the right time. I think just a great example of a guy that obviously grew up in and around the sport and truly understood and loved practicing the craft of 1500m/mile racing.

The high points are obvious, but one race which I will always remember and I think was actually one of his most incredible efforts was his 3.49.26 mile on a windy Friday night at Jesuit high school which they had the balls to bill as an AR attempt, and then go out and get after. And he had some of the most inexplicably bad pacemaking possible from two guys that should have been way better and yet he still gutsed it out and ran a solo time that at the time was inside the top 50 AT. That was impressive.

But, and there is always a but. The association with the NOP is a thing and it matters. And it's a thing that he wasn't part of the "Pete Julian tier" in the NOP - he was with Rupp and Farah as one of Salazars "guys". I'll be honest, I don't know exactly what that means - but we do know that Salazar received a 4 year ban for being involved in doping practices and so when you are one of that guys best athletes who ended up winning the biggest prize you can in the sport, well come to your own conclusions.

I was too young to follow Centro at his peak. My first Olympic cycle was 2020/2021, but the rivalry between him and Hocker leading into the Trials was easily the most exciting storyline to follow. I watched them race that B heat 5k in December 2020 (only because the A heat was stacked). 13:30.0 for both of them if I recall. Hocker went on to be on fire for the next 8 months. I remember completely discounting Centro all the way up until a few weeks before the trials because of some lackluster results, but he ended up almost winning. He wasn’t just a championship performer, he was probably the best we’ve ever had.

3rd at Worlds after his junior year in college (behind a convicted doper btw, he has silver in my book). 4th in 2012 Olympics in his first year as a pro (behind a convicted doper btw, he has bronze in my book). 2nd in 2015 (behind a convicted doper btw, he has gold in my book). Gold in 2016 in a race he led from wire to wire with a 3:26 guy in the field (convicted doper btw). A ton of national titles. His record speaks for itself.

Some people discount his gold because he won in 3:50, but the way I see it, that one race was so influential that we haven’t seen a slow WC or Olympic final since. And Nuguse has shown us that even if you can run 3:43, it doesn’t mean you’ll medal in a fast race. Centro was the ultimate tactical racer, but don’t forget that until this week, he had the Olympic Trials record, and until last year he had the nationals record, along with a 3:30 that made him one of the fastest Americans ever. He also held the Millrose record until the last year or two I think.

He competed at the highest level for his whole career. From high school when he was one of the best in the country, to an NCAA title and a 3:35-6, to a national title and a world medal before graduating, to an Olympic champion.

I don’t know how anyone could bash him. I can only hope that I’ll get to watch one of the massive talents that we have now have the kind of career that he did.

While there is debate about whether or not he's the greatest American miler of all time, there's no question he knew how to compete in a way that no other could, before or after. A born winner, through and through.

world championship has only been around since the 80s

Shorter got ncaa, national, and olympic. Not sure about state.

Anyone who even looks at times in a championship- from districts to Olympic Games has not ever been a serious runner.

Cheers to Matt for a great career. Much to be proud of without a doubt. Inspired a whole generation of milers. And had probably the best Xbox gamertag of any runner ever.

Can’t wait for the send off article with the top 5 career moments list- and obviously expecting his high school national outdoor 2 mile title to be #1.