Centro is one of the greatest 1500m runners of the 2010s

It’s not centros fault that the «better» runners wasn’t peak form. He was ready and made the race perfect for himself which is very impressive. You can say 2012 gebremeskel in Paris was better than Farah also, but he was still beaten when it mattered in London.

Fair points all. I just liked Lewandowski’s finish but Willis probably deserved to be ahead. Lewandowski I think never had his maximal time trial in 2019. He had Paris that year but didn’t run great and his PB was from a championship race. That was part of my thinking. And true on Kiplagat but his 2011 world champs race was legit too.
The Willis thing I can’t get past is because in 2008 yes you could argue he was Gold of even Silver as is but I think you rerun that race minus dopers I can’t see him winning. Centro won his fair and square, no DQs etc.

One of life's simple enjoyments is watching Centro running for gold. I'm smiling right now just thinking about it.

Agreed. This thread is loaded with absurdity. Time trial goofs and late slop closers have no business being mentioned. Only on this forum would anyone doubt that Centrowitz is absolutely among the top 2 or 3 of the decade.

You guys are f-wits. Seriously.

An Olympic title puts you alongside names like Snell, Walker, Coe, Morceli, El Guerrouj - it doesn't matter how it's run or the finishing time, Centrowitz won when it mattered. Where were the other 11 of your "12 best" at the finish line in Rio? Behind MC.

The 1500m is hard. And it's even harder to achieve the level of dominance you seem to be looking for unless your name is El Guerrouj or Morceli. People forget that Coe, arguably the greatest, got it handed to him a fair few times over the 1500/mile between 1980 and 84 - just being dominant every race isn't feasible.

So anyways, you did what a lot of guys do here - you roll in with big statements, shoot down people who put a name out there with some evidence/logic and don't provide one yourself. So tough guy, give us 3 names that go ahead of Centro on the list of the greatest 1500m runners of the 2010's. Floor is yours.

they will never let rio happen again? there have been plenty of tactical races and there will be more in the future as well. the racers will do whatever it takes to win gold, its not a time trial.

miles are beginning races faster? thats because jakob is pulling them along. there's plenty of tactical 1500s still that jakob isnt a part of. and jakob isn't front running because centrowitz won gold in rio, he is front running because he is a level ahead of everyone else and they are just holding on.

What an oddly enchanting title to have!

Willis and his medals by default? No. List one outdoor Olympics or W.C. 1500m final in which Willis wasn't 4th place or worse with 300m to go. Willis waited for the men who fought to possibly earn gold tired. I started racing 5K road races in a similar fashion once I turned 50. I would race in 4th to 7th place until about 700m to go. I know what Willis was doing.

Would you rank Coburn as one of the best steeplers in the world in the 2010s?

Let's see....

Emma's won Olympic bronze, WC gold, WC silver. She's also won diamond league races and a Continental Cup. She beat the #1 ranked and WR holder Ruth Jebet (who was doped to the gills) along with 3 other faster Kenyans for her WC in 2017 and she beat the #1 ranked Hiwot Ayalew in 2014 for her Continental Cup win. She made the WC or Olympic finals in each of her six visits from 2011- 2019 (and 8x through 2022) Also a ten time US champion and set and reset the AR 3x.

... I'd say the comparison is valid actually and, yes Emma Coburn was among the best Steeplers in the 2010s

Your thread smell beggary.

It's as subjective as your subjectivity of omitting a name like Kiprop.

Please do us all a favor and point out the men who have more than one global 1500m championship title in the 2010s.

(I’ll give you a hint: there’s one, and he’s currently banned from the sport. If you take out his results, there would be two — and you’re gonna hate to see who they are)

Centro was great to watch in his prime. But his favorite event is beyond him and it's hard to watch him running without a chance knowing what he was capable of years ago. Why isn't Centro being encouraged to move to the roads and up in distance?

I agree Centro was great, especially in international championships.

But he can´t move up in distance or go to the roads because he won´t fare better.

Nobody is saying Willis doesn’t deserve to be in the conversation for top 5 or 10 milers or the ‘10s, but people are rightly arguing that he gets zero consideration for being at the top of the list.

If people are going to compare having an olympic gold medal versus a WR consider this:

In 2016, if someone asked you to make a list of the world's best 1500m runners currently competing who you'd choose to try to break the 1500m world record, the list you'd make is the people that Centro beat in the Olympic final. It's not like those dude weren't competing at the Olympics trying to win a gold medal themselves. (Kiprop was IN the final and ran 3:26.69 in 2015!)

In Centro's gold medal race, he beat every guy on earth (active runners) who you'd have chosen as candidates for a WR race. There were no others better currently racing who you might have chosen, so he beat the fastest runners on earth and I don't understand why people diminish his accomplishment knowing this fact. It's not like Centrowitz had a bye in the qualifying heats or got a head start in the race or something - he beat guys with much better 400m and 800m speed too.

Gold medal.

Thanks for putting this together. The contrast between Centro vs Kiplagat and Cheruiyot is wild, with 1 DL win and 0 sub-3:30s vs. 15/20 DL wins and 4/6 sub 3:30s, despite Centro having the better championship record. Thats why it's tricky to figure out exaclty where to place Centro. It's weird to have someone be so good at championship races when they are not performing like a top 3 runner in the world the rest of the season.

Thats why I disagree with whoever said that greatest championship runner is completely synonymous with greatest runner. Championship performance definitely should be weighted highest, but how someone performs against the rest of the world outside of a championship and how fast they run still matter. I might weight it 60/15/25? People are saying Cheruiyot over Centro, despite Centro having more global medals. Why? Because of fast times and dominance in diamond league races, which are missing from Centro's resume.

But I am fully convinced now that that Centro is one of the greatest 1500m runners of the 2010s. No qualifications to that title needed.

And in this day and age people will just think you're doping whenever you run fast

Just want to point out that we were never graced with a simple response to that question of naming 3 names ahead of Centro in the 2010's. Messageboard tough guys go home devastated

And I'll say this - I don't like Matt Centrowitz at all, I actually think he's kind of insufferable. I certainly don't like he was one of the select, um, three athletes Salazar had in his "elite" crew heading into Rio - but it is what it is and the facts and results don't lie.