By Karen Rosen
RIO DE JANEIRO – Matthew Centrowitz was not to be denied this time.
Four years after finishing fourth in London, he won the 1,500-meter at the Rio Olympic Games for the first U.S. gold medal in the event since Mel Sheppard in 1908.
Centrowitz led at every split, finishing in 3 minutes, 50 seconds flat, about 20 seconds off his personal best. He held off several challengers and ran a last lap of 50.62 seconds to edge Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria, whose time was 3:50.11. Nicholas Willis of New Zealand was third in 3:50.24.
At the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Track and Field in July, Centrowitz had a final lap of 53.95 seconds.
A two-time Olympian like his father, Matt, Centrowitz said he was joking with his dad before the trials.
“He was a two-time Olympian and I am now,” Centrowitz said. “He can’t hold that over me. A cool stat is that his first team he made he got second and the second team he won (at the trials); just another step ‘like father like son.’”
But now the son has done better than the father.
The last Team USA athlete to medal in the event was Leo Manzano, who won the silver at the London 2012 Olympic Games, but did not make the U.S. team this year, finishing fourth at trials.
source: http://www.teamusa.org
