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| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | January 28, 1955 New York, New York | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Oregon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States of America | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track and Field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | 5,000 meters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Bill Dellinger | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Matthew Centrowitz Sr. (born January 28, 1955 [1] ) is a two-time Olympic distance runner, a four-time United States champion, a collegiate All-American, a nationally renowned high school athlete, and a collegiate cross country and track coach. [2]
Centrowitz was born in New York, New York, the son of Theresa (Corrigan) and Sid Centrowitz. [1] His father was Jewish and his mother was an Irish immigrant. [3] He attended Power Memorial Academy, where he won state championships in the half mile, one mile and two mile events and became the first New Yorker to break nine minutes in the two mile run (8:56.2). [2] In 1973 (his senior year), he was ranked as the country's number one high school mile runner. [2] He has the fourth best all-time high school 1500 m time of 3:43.4 and still holds the state record in the 1500 m and mile (4:02.7) [4] events. [2]
He attended Manhattan College in New York [5] for one year, then transferred to the University of Oregon. In 1976, he broke Steve Prefontaine's 1500 m school record, running 3:36.7. He was on the Ducks' 1977 NCAA Cross Country Championship team and graduated from Oregon in 1978. [2]
Centrowitz was a member of the US Olympic Team in 1976, competing in the 1500 m. [2] He qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team but did not compete due to the U.S. Olympic Committee's boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia. He was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal instead. [6] He won a gold medal in the 5000 m run at the 1979 Pan-American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, [2] and followed that with four United States national championships in the 5000 m run from 1979–82. [7] In 1982, he set the American record in the 5000 m with a time of 13:12.91. [2]
He was the track coach for the Reebok Enclave, in charge of training distance runners who tried out for the 1996 and 2000 U.S. Olympic Team. He has coached three Olympians: David Strang, John Trautman and Jen Rhines; and 1993 U.S. 1500 m Champion Bill Burke. Centrowitz is a member of the U.S. Olympic Development Committee. [2]
Centrowitz began his coaching career as an assistant track coach at St. John's University (New York). He restarted the track program at American University in 1999, becoming the cross-country and track coach. [8] Centrowitz has coached seven All-American runners. In 2001–02, his athletes captured nine Patriot League titles in track and field, earned seventeen All-League honors, two All-Region honors and one All-East award. In 2003–04, both the men's and women's cross country teams captured league titles, five of the six Athletes of the Meet, twenty First-Team All-League selections and nine Second-Team All-League selections. In 2004–05, the men's cross country team won its third straight Patriot League title. [2]
In July, 2018, he was named Cross Country and Track and Field Director at Manhattan College. [9]
Centrowitz was inducted into the University of Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame with the other members of the 1977 University of Oregon Cross Country team in 1998. [10] In 2005, he was named Mid-Atlantic Regional Coach of the Year. [2]
Matt Centrowitz and his wife Beverly had three children while living in Annapolis, Maryland. Two of his children, daughter Lauren and son Matthew Jr. are also accomplished distance runners. Lauren competed for Stanford University [11] and qualified for the Olympic Trials in 2012. [12] Matt Jr competed for the University of Oregon (his father's alma mater) [13] and now competes professionally with the Bowerman Track Club. [14] In 2011, Matt Jr. became the 2011 United States Champion in the 1500 metres [15] and was the bronze medalist at 1500 metres in the 2011 World Championships. [16] In 2016, he won the gold medal at the 2016 World Indoor Championships [17] and then won the gold medal in the 1500 metres at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, becoming the first U.S. runner to win the event since 1908.
Steve Scott is an American former track athlete and one of the greatest mile runners in American history. The silver medalist in the 1500 meters at the inaugural IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki in 1983, Scott owns the U.S. indoor record in the 2000 meters (4:58.6-1981). He held the American outdoor mile record for more than 26 years and also is the former American indoor record holder in the same event. Track & Field News ranked Scott #1 in the U.S. on 10 occasions, and 11 times during his career he was ranked in the top ten in the world by T&FN. Additionally, he participated for the US team at the 1984 Olympics. He finished 5th in the 1500 meter run at the 1988 Olympics held in Korea. Scott was also an Olympian on the 1980 Olympics team which was not allowed to go to Moscow. He ran the sub four-minute mile on 136 occasions in his career, more than any other runner in history.
Bernard Kipchirchir Lagat is a Kenyan-American former middle and long-distance runner.
William Solon Dellinger is a retired American middle-distance runner, and track and field and cross country coach. He competed in the 5,000 m at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won a bronze medal in 1964, setting his personal record. He lettered in track at the University of Oregon in 1954, 1955, and 1956.
James Calvin Spivey is a former American middle-distance runner and Olympian. Spivey took up competitive running in Illinois where he became one of the best high school runners from his state. He was the 1982 NCAA DI men's 1500-meter champion with Indiana University. Spivey enjoyed a long Olympic career, in which he participated in the Olympic Summer Games in 1984, 1992, and 1996.
Galen Rupp is an American long-distance runner. He competed in the Summer Olympics in 2008 in Beijing, 2012 in London, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and 2021 in Tokyo. He won the silver medal in the men's 10,000 meters in London and the bronze medal in the men's marathon in Rio de Janeiro. Rupp competed for the University of Oregon and trained under Alberto Salazar as a member of the Nike Oregon Project. He won the 2017 Chicago Marathon, becoming the first American to do so since Khalid Khannouchi in 2002. Rupp won the marathon at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials in Atlanta with a time of 2:09:20, and qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, where he finished eighth.
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Frances Anne "Francie" Larrieu Smith is an American track and field athlete. She was the flagbearer at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona for the United States of America. Larrieu Smith was the third female American athlete to make five American Olympic teams, behind the six of fencer Jan York-Romary and Track and Field's Willye White. The feat was later equaled by basketball player Teresa Edwards, track and field's Gail Devers, cyclist/speedskater Chris Witty and swimmer Dara Torres. After one of the longest elite careers on record, she retired from that level of competition.
Matthew Centrowitz Jr. 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.
John Gregorek is an American former middle-distance runner who competed in the Summer Olympics in 1980 (boycotted) and 1984. His son, John Gregorek Jr., is also a competitive middle-distance runner, who competed in the 2017 World Championships.
Alan Webb is an American former track and field athlete and former triathlete. He held the American national record in the mile, with a time of 3 minutes 46.91 seconds, from July 2007 to September 2023. Webb represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the men's 1500-meters race. He competed professionally for Nike until the end of 2013. He retired after the 2014 Millrose Games.
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Eric Jenkins is a retired long-distance runner. In college, he ran for Northeastern University, before transferring to the University of Oregon after his junior year. At the University of Oregon, Jenkins was a two-time NCAA Champion, with victories in the 3000 metres and 5000 metres at the 2015 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships. He began competing professionally for Nike in 2015 as part of the Nike Oregon Project. Jenkins retired from competition in 2023.
Clayton Murphy is an American middle-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 800-meter run at the 2016 Olympic Games. He was the gold medalist in the 800-meter run at the 2015 Pan American Games. He ran collegiately for the University of Akron, before signing with Nike in June 2016 and joining the Nike Oregon Project.
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Cooper Teare is an American middle- and long-distance runner. He is a two-time national champion, securing victories in the 1500 metres at the 2022 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and in the 2024 USA Cross Country Championships. Teare has represented the United States at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, the 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships, and the 2017 Pan American U20 Athletics Championships, where he earned a bronze medal in the 1500 m.
Elise Cranny is an American middle and long-distance runner. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She is a four-time national champion and holds the American record in the indoor 5000 metres.
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