American middle-distance runner
Matthew Centrowitz Jr. (born October 18, 1989) is an American middle-distance runner, who specializes in the 1500 metres. He won a gold medal in the event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He also achieved a bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships and a silver medal at the 2013 World Championships. Centrowitz is a five-time national champion in the 1500 m at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
As a high schooler, Centrowitz won a gold medal at the 2007 Pan American Junior Championships. He competed in college for the University of Oregon, where he was the NCAA champion in the 1500 m in 2011. The university inducted him into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2021. Centrowitz has competed professionally for Nike since 2011.
Early life and youth sports.
Centrowitz was born in Beltsville, Maryland, the son of Beverly (née Bannister) and two-time Olympian Matt Centrowitz, who was the head track coach at American University in Washington, D.C. Centrowitz Jr.'s father is of Jewish and Irish ancestry, and his mother is from Guyana. His sister Lauren Centrowitz is also an elite runner, qualifying for the Olympic Trials in 2012. Centrowitz is Catholic. He grew up in Arnold, Maryland.
Centrowitz was a track star at Broadneck High School in Annapolis. His negative split 8:41.55 win in the 2-mile race at the Nike Outdoor Nationals was described as one of the best races in prep history and was also the best high school time of 2007. His time of 4:08.38 for the mile at the Penn Relays in April 2007 established a meet record. That same year, he also set the Maryland state record over 1600 meters in 4:04.09 and won a gold medal at the Pan American Junior Championships held in São Paulo, Brazil in the 1500 m run.
Collegiate competition.
Centrowitz ran for the University of Oregon from 2007 to 2011, where he was a 7-time All-American. In 2009, Centrowitz's split of 3.59.53 helped break the NCAA 4 x mile record on May 10 with teammates Andrew Wheating (3:59.60), Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott (4:05.21), and Galen Rupp (3:58.93), shaving a little more than a second off of the old record with a 16:03.24.
In 2011 Centrowitz won the 1500 meters in the Pac-10 and the NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. On November 29, 2011, Centrowitz announced his decision to turn professional.
Senior competition.
2011- 2012: Bronze medal in Daegu.
Centrowitz joined the Nike Oregon Project in 2011, where he was coached by Alberto Salazar. Centrowitz outkicked Bernard Lagat and Leo Manzano at the 2011 USATF Outdoor Championships in the 1500m. He won a bronze medal in the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in the 1500m behind Asbel Kiprop and Silas Kiplagat.
In 2012, Centrowitz qualified for the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Turkey by getting second in the national indoor 1500m championship, behind Manzano and in front of teammate Galen Rupp. He finished seventh in the World Championship Indoor 1500m final, with a time of 3:47.42. On July 1, 2012, Centrowitz qualified for the United States Olympic team in the 1500 m. He finished in fourth place in the 2012 London Olympic Games in the 1,500 meter race, missing the bronze medal by .04 seconds with a time of 3:35.17. He won the Fifth Avenue Mile ahead of Bernard Lagat in September.
2013 - 2015: Silver medal in Moscow.
During the 2013 indoor season, his first race was at the Seattle UW Indoor Preview, where he won the 800m. He was second at the Millrose Games Wanamaker Mile. He was first at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix mile. At the USATF Indoor Championships, he was fourth in the 800m and 8th in the mile. To kick off his outdoor season, he took part in the Penn Relays USA vs. The World, where his team took fourth in the DMR with a time of 9:19.33. He was sixth at the Oxy High Performance meet in the 1500m. He was tenth in the Prefontaine Classic Bowerman Mile, setting a personal best of 3:51.79. He won the USATF Outdoor 1500m championship for the second time, which qualified him for the IAAF World Championships in Moscow. He won the silver medal in Moscow with a time of 3:36.78.
Centrowitz spent the 2014 outdoor season lowering his PRs. At the Diamond League meet in Monaco, he achieved a nearly one second personal best in the 1500 meters best by clocking 3:31.09, which ranked seventh in United States history at the time.
2016: Olympic Gold medal in Rio de Janeiro.
On February 20, 2016, Centrowitz won the Millrose Games men's indoor mile in 3:50.63, edging off Nick Willis.
On March 20, 2016, Centrowitz won the 1500 meters at the World Indoor Championships, wrapping up an unbeaten indoor season.
On August 20, 2016, Centrowitz competed at the 2016 Olympic Games, where he won the 1500 meters race in 3:50.00, becoming the first American to win the event since Mel Sheppard in 1908. The race was tactical and the pace slow at the start; the first four finalists in the T13 1500m men's final at the 2016 Summer Paralympics all finished faster than Centrowitz.
2017 - present.
In January 2019, Centrowitz moved to the Bowerman Track Club under the coaching of Jerry Schumacher.
In 2021, Centrowitz qualified for his third Olympics in the 1,500 m. Prior to the Olympics, Centrowitz ran in a specially set up mile run as a tune-up. While his pacers dropped off the pace earlier than expected, he still finished in a new personal best of 3:49.26.Video on YouTube
Centrowitz competed in the 1500 m at the delayed 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo. In the heats of the 1500, he coasted through the slowest heat with a time of 3:41.12. In the semifinals he placed 9th, failing to qualify for the finals and defend his 1500m Olympic title.
Centrowitz was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2021. In May 2022, Centrowitz had surgery to repair an ACL injury from the prior year. Prior to this injury-induced absence from the USA championships, he had made all eight outdoor World Athletics Championships and Olympic teams from 2011-2021. In late 2022, he formally confirmed that he had left the Bowerman Track Club and was now self-coached.
Centrowitz placed tenth in the final of the 1,500 m at the 2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Centrowitz announced in March 2024 that he would retire after the 2024 outdoor season. On June 21, 2024, the 34-year-old announced his withdrawal from the 2024 U.S. Olympic trials due to injury.
Personal life.
Centrowitz married on October 3, 2023 to Lyndsay Centrowitz. Their first child, Luka, was born on November 10, 2024.
Achievements.
All information from World Athletics profile.
References.
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