Matthew Centrowitz Tribute Thread

Retire! You got your arse whooped by a 19 year old whose friends you dissed on the ‘gram. Game over!

Quite a good summary.

In the beginning (2010-11) I rooted for Centrowitz on the international stage. There is something to be said about his magnificent racing career. But the more I got to know him over the years the more I concluded that being a real champion is as much about the walk as it is the run.

He has an olympic gold and no one can take that away from him (except WADA). He had a string of USA victories which no one can take away from him.

But Centro doesnt have that walk part right.

* Sexual comments about Sloan from Entourage in public view

* Instadrama with the youngins

* The $24k cash loss in poker right before the pandemic

* Burrito truck-goer with GF Shelboo

* Him posting on LetsRun and partaking in petty arguments

* Previous Salazar affiliation

* Overall, a me-centric worldview

Good runner but much less of a good person.

no love for doping apologists actually wrote:

One fluke gold medal.

Never ran a time that was more than mediocre on the world level.

Probably the weakest athlete in a distance event to pick up a gold. I can’t think of weaker.

It's a tribute thread you dickless low class ahole.

its always easier to cheer for the faster, ballsy runner, but hes a cocky smart racer. in that respect our slower tacticians tend to be seen as a foe much like our polarizing friend sir farah. however the mix of personalities is great for the sport. we need twerps to love and hate as much as we need the humble champion. it's interesting to think of nick willis also being a master tactician, perannially hitting above his weight, yet easier to cheer for because he's an outwardly nice guy.

i hated watching centro win gold but as a fan i absolutely love the drama that it made.

Another cheers for Centro here. The best championship 1500 racer the USA has EVER had, and may ever have again. Remember that 108 year wait between golds?

It is mind boggling people overlook this medal history:

2011 WC bronze

2012 O 4th

2013 WC silver

2016 indoor Gold

2016 O Gold

^Read that list again. That is unprecedented for a US middle distance runner. And a homegrown one at that! Not a Kenyan mercenary with an EPO positive. A kid who grew up in the USA, went to HS here, played Nintendo, etc. Savviest racer we’ve ever had, and smooth as silk doing it.

Denigrating his Olympic GOLD medal? Are you kidding?? All the world’s best had their chance to shape that race and he owned them all. Period.

PRs of 1:44, 3:30, 3:49 and 13:00 that rival any US athlete ever.

The ONLY reason to dislike Centro is his associations with Sal and Shelby. I admit my suspicions get raised when he gets insanely lean insanely quickly approaching winning season, and sports body acne. I’m not a doping apologist, but I tend to reserve judgement in a sport where you have to beat Kiprop and Makhloufi to win.

Whatever your opinion of him personally, at least appreciate what he’s done.

doping cheater out !!!

Using the words of the man himself,

"Is Schumacher’s program different from Salazar’s? “Yeah, definitely,” Centro answered on the suggestion “more strength oriented'"

He definitely incorporated some of his work from the Salazar days with Jerry, but he was much slower like the 3x800m workout. He was slower because he wasn't doing enough speed work.

I don't believe in the whole strength is speed philosophy. Strength clearly helps but being able to run extremely fast on tired legs is another skill and one that Alberto knew how to cultivate. If you are not constantly working on that you are not going to have it. Salazar has a much better track record in Olympic/World Championship situations and it's because he understands you need to be able to run 50 seconds at the drop of a hat.

Prior coach banned for drugs, ex-girlfriend banned for drugs, leaves teams conveniently before sal is busted

i’d say he’s been successful

in evading a positive test

Jerry indeed deserves as much blame for this performance as Centro’s tactics. All runners are different, but Centro has clearly had more success with more speed than strength. That can also court injuries though.

In any case, Centro deserves more tributes than just this thread. He is one of the greatest milers this country has ever seen. It’s a shame the jackals on this board insist on scoffing at his accomplishments, which are truly once in a generation. Like Centro or hate him, if you couldn’t take any joy in his Rio run, then you’re watching the wrong sport.

I know a lot of people here like to say he has no talent because his tactics win the day, but after years of Michael Stember and Alan Webb, American running needed a bit of racing savvy—which is, for the record, a talent in its own right.

Love this sentiment from OP.

Wish we’d see the same in the Coburn threads.

All basketball players fade at some point, and unfortunately it’s Matty’s time. #rip

So interestingly, Schumacher changed up how he coached for Centrowitz and DeBues-Stafford this year. For most of the spring build up and in the build up to Tokyo he had them running their own workouts, often going Monday-Wednesday-Friday while the rest of the group went Tuesday-Friday. More focus on speed during these sessions too.

RE: DeBues-Stafford - obviously the final will show a lot, but I think we've seen enough to say GDS is at worst in similar shape to where she was in Glasgow. 3 of her fastest 7 ever 1500s are from 2021, she's PRd in the 800 by 2 seconds, and her 3:58.22 in the semis is her 2nd fastest 1500 behind only that mad final in Doha and run way less evenly (her 2nd lap was a 67).

I'm not massively disappointed or surprised by Centrowitz. Got in good shape, ran decent times even though he is a bit older. Was absolutely nowhere in April (1:50 lol) but got back in shape. I imagine there is a limit to how fast you can go in August when your April fitness is so garbage though. Again contrasting the two while Centro was struggling and inconsistent in the winter season, Stafford was beating Cranny & Schweizer in the 3km and rather casually beating the likes of McGee and Osika in the 1500. One situation is a much better foundation to build fitness on than the other.

Your move 12 other guys.

Gotta wonder if that 3:49 time trial took something out of him that would have been better saved for the Games.

Thank you Matthew Centrowitz, Jr,

You made a good career showing the naysayers how they were wrong.

People questioned your heart, athleticism, training and your ability to put up when challenged.

The attitude you liked to throw around resulted in wins and colleagues that were able to "assist" you by opening up a small clearance where you weren't boxed in (Thank you Ben Blankenship).

You got a long overdue Olympic Gold for the U.S. in the 1500.

And for what may be your last big moment, while you did not make the final, you showed some loud, brash spoiled brats your move by beating their guy. (Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christman!!🎁)

You did well for the nation. God Bless America. God Bless Centro.

But having said all that - DeBues-Stafford may be a perfect fit for Schumacher's program. She ran 14:44 in the 5000m under Andy Young, despite that group doing 40-50 miles a week. That's 5s better than Muir's PR in the 5000m and she did it in her 2nd ever 5000. Someone dropping 14:40s off of 45 mile weeks is definitely someone with a natural aptitude for the longer stuff. So maybe the volume focus of BTC really suits the Canadian and she can still run strong 800m and 1500m times off of it.

Retiredivyrunner wrote:

Retire! You got your arse whooped by a 19 year old whose friends you dissed on the ‘gram. Game over!

Right! Thanks for reminding me that I left a part off my tribute.

Addendum: Thanks also Matt for choosing a school like Oregon where they know racing and times instead of an Ivy league school where they think 3:32.87 beats 3:32.69.

Thanks again sir for that reminder.

He ran 3:33. That is a quality run . He was in an incredibly fast race. No shame in that.