CENTRO FOR BRONZE!!!

thought he was out with 200 meters to go and then surprised me in the last 100. awesome race

OMG!

As usual, we will see many posters talking about why Lagat isnt doubling.

Good medal for Centro.

Absolutely brilliant tactics! A beautiful race! THAT'S how you beat people you're not supposed to beat!

Wow! Great race. Good for him

fantastic!!!! And Kenya 1-2 as expected!!!!

well worth staying up all night for... he looked like he was done with 400 to go, but then he rallied back into position

AMAZING.. great day for american distance running.

Kiprop, Kiplagat, Centro closing hard for 3rd. He'll win it next time.

I even think he held back too much because he was closing faster than anyone in the race in the last 100m.

Amazing last 100m...If he had held his spot at about 550m left who knows, he may have won the thing...simply great running for a medal in a very strong field.

dud3 wrote:

thought he was out with 200 meters to go and then surprised me in the last 100. awesome race

CONGRATS TO MATT!!! AWESOME RUN.

Centro did what many who have watched him this week expected. Not necessarily everyone thought he would medal but they thought he would run very smart and be a threat. He did just that in the final.

Centro got out in great position behind eventual last place finisher Nick Willis.

Leader's Splits

300: 44.30

700: 1:46.25 (61.9)

1100: 2:43.9 (57.6)

1300: 3:09.42 (25.55)

1500: 3:35.69 Kiprop (26.27, 51.8)

We had Centro's last lap at 51-mid. He was 6th or 7th with 400 to go.

If you think Centro had too much in the tank because he was closing at the end, you're wrong, from my live vantage point. Kiplagat and Kiprop were kicking hard for 600m, and at one point Centro, because of traffic, had moved back to about 8th with 250m to go. Like he has done all week, he smoothly kicked and avoided traffic and closed well. He ran pretty much perfectly, moving to the outside with 500 go go rather than getting stuck on the rail. He only looked like he was gaining at the end because the guys at the front had just run a 25.5 for the preceding 200 and "only" had a 26 left in them. While they were running 25.5 trying to break the field, Centro was "biding time" letting traffic clear, running a 26-low before closing in 25. Perfect race for Centro. Pretty cool to see Americans get gold and bronze in 1500 finals. Vessey and/or Montano could medal tomorrow as well.

CENTROCITY!!!!!!!!!!

Good synopsis and pretty much spot on.

I'm....I'm shocked. The ceiling on this guy isn't palpable. At the end of the day, the goal of running when you get to this level is to win hardware. As I was reminded by another fan, this is better than his dad ever did.

I only really started following the sport in '07 spring. Remember that year? That's the year that Centro outkicked Craig Forys to win the Nike Outdoor Nationals (NON) 2mile. I was floored at the time with his race and speed and how smooth he looked doing it.

Today it came full circle to me, and I was equally as floored today as I was back then as a 16 year old. The contrast between his career and Forys' also provides a stark contrast and good data point when looking forward at future careers of great HS runners.

This isn't that surprising. He is the only American we've seen out kick Lagat. With his kick, he is a big danger in any tactical race. Congrats to Matt! He has a big career ahead.

Video?

Centro looks like a kid in a candy store in the medal ceremony.

asef wrote:

Video?

I can't find it on youtube or Universal's site. Someone please link it.

Think of how many pros toil for YEARS after college trying to achieve what Centro has just done! Even with his relatively modest PR, really a fantastic run. Perfect tactics.