Centrowitz Runs To A World Championship Medal

He became the youngest American to ever medal in the 1500m event.

The managing editor of the Catholic Review, Paul McMullen, who is one of the Baltimore region’s track and field experts had this to say about Matt Centrowitz’s bronze medal in the 1500m at the World Championships: “It’s not Babe Ruth, Cal Ripken or Michael Phelps, but it’s one of the greatest local accomplishments in sports that I can ever remember.”

In the 1500m final, Centrowitz, a 21-year-old senior at the University of Oregon, came in behind legendary Kenyans Asbel Kiprop and Silas Kiplagat.

“I just wanted to stay patient,” Centrowitz told NBC Sports after the race. “I found myself in fifth with 200 meters to go and didn’t want to get boxed in, so I swung wide with 150 to go. I just kept pumping and kept fighting. I wanted it so bad.”

Centrowitz is now the youngest American to ever medal in the 1500m in either the world championships or the Olympics.

“The United States hasn’t been relevant in international track and field for a long time in terms of distance running,” said McMullen. “And you have to go back to Jim Ryun to find a U.S. runner who was ranked No. 1 among the top mile runners in the world. Bernard Lagat won it four years ago, but he was born and raised in Kenya.”

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