Centro wants gold: "The last few I’ve just been trying to win a medal. This year the mindset is a lot different"

You're right about everything except for using London as an example of good tactics. That was one of the stupidest races I've seen someone do and he still crushed them without trying.

What's so stupid about deliberately toying with the field to test himself?

I like hearing this from Centro. This is the only way he can think about the final. He's gotten silver and bronze, he can't stay complacent and just go for another one of those. Go big or go home.

It's great to see a fearless competitor.

El Keniano wrote:

What's so stupid about deliberately toying with the field to test himself?

Do you really think a person who ran under 327 was toyed with by Centro saying he wanted to win (never mind targeting a time that is 3 seconds than what was already run this year)?

Centro is confident for good reason. As he's said, he came into Daegu 2011 with a 3:34 pb. It's not like the margin between he and Kiprop has grown tremendously. What was Kiprop's pb in 2011? Centro is now 4 seconds faster all out coming in, and has shown that he always hits his best shape at the championships.

If the race is tactical, Centro has a great shot at silver. He's a winner partly because he believes he is, so why not shoot for gold? He's no longer a guy that hangs off and tries to squeeze in last second for a podium spot. In a tactical race, he's a guy that competes for the gold.

And why wouldn't the race be tactical? This isn't Seville 1999 when EPO was arguably abused and Hicham used his teammate as a pacesetter for a 3:27 Final, blowing kisses to the stands and shutting it down the last 20 meters. The Kenyans always talk about making it fast, but how many times do they? Athletes at this level are too afraid to sacrifice themselves for a fast pace. Maybe they're tired from the rounds and would rather have an easy pace with a lightning finish. Yes, Kiprop ran 3:26, looking amazing, but he also knows what happens when he goes for a hot pace and falters. He and Silas are friends off the track but I doubt he wants that guy coming through for gold if Kiprop fades like he did in Monaco 2014.

Just my 2 cents

LetsRun.com wrote:

I’ve kind of become I don’t want to say the favorite but the talk of guy that could upset Kiprop

Awwwwww he's trying his hand at comedy now!

Early morning sunrise wrote:

--Yawn--

Not a fan of NOP

This.

In Kenya, whenever someone is being outrageously cocky or pretentious, they are immediately put back in place: "kua mpole" (Swahili for "be humble").

So this is me saying; Bwana Centrowitz! Kua mpole!

You never win by disrespecting your competition especially knowing they're far more talented than you.

El Keniano wrote:

In Kenya, whenever someone is being outrageously cocky or pretentious, they are immediately put back in place: "kua mpole" (Swahili for "be humble").

So this is me saying; Bwana Centrowitz! Kua mpole!

You never win by disrespecting your competition especially knowing they're far more talented than you.

All that talk from him was just a bunch of bs. He's not going to medal in a race where there are guys with PRs so much faster than his. Look where he finished in Monaco this year and you'll see where he actually sits in the international field. The 1500m is stacked now and he doesn't really belong in the conversation for a medal.

Again, it's not about his confidence but him be so dismissive of better runners. Look at Kiprop's interview after the race. Even he wasn't confident of winning given how stacked the field was.

Centro is going to make a great used car salesman in a few years.

Centroblows wrote:

Centro is going to make a great used car salesman in a few years.

ROFL