Matthew Centrowitz (born January 28, 1955) 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.

Life and early career

Centrowitz was born in

New York, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...

, the son of Theresa (Corrigan) and Sid Centrowitz. His father was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

and his mother was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

immigrant. He attended

Power Memorial Academy Power Memorial Academy (PMA) was an all-boys Catholic high school in New York City that operated from 1931 through 1984. It was a basketball powerhouse, producing several NBA players including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Len Elmore, Mario Elie, Chris Mul ...

, 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). In 1973 (his senior year), he was ranked as the country's number one high school mile runner. 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) events. He attended Manhattan College in New York for one year, then transferred to the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. In 1976, he broke

Steve Prefontaine Steve Roland "Pre" Prefontaine (January 25, 1951 – May 30, 1975) was an American long-distance runner who from 1973 to 1975 set American records at every distance from 2,000 to 10,000 meters. He competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics, and ...

'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.

International competition

Centrowitz was a member of the US Olympic Team in 1976, competing in the 1500 m. 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 The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...

instead. He won a gold medal in the 5000 m run at the 1979 Pan-American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and followed that with four United States national championships in the 5000 m run from 1979–82. In 1982, he set the American record in the 5000 m with a time of 13:12.91.

Coaching

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 Jennifer "Jen" Rhines (born July 1, 1974 in Syracuse, New York) is an American long-distance runner who competes in track, cross country and road running events. She has competed in three different Summer Olympics and made 15 US Teams. Rh ...

; and 1993 U.S. 1500 m Champion Bill Burke. Centrowitz is a member of the U.S. Olympic Development Committee. Centrowitz began his coaching career as an assistant track coach at

St. John's University (New York) St. John's University is a private Roman Catholic university in Queens, New York City. It was founded in 1870 by the Congregation of the Mission (C.M., the Vincentian Fathers) with a mission to provide the youth of New York with a Catholic un ...

. He restarted the track program at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

in 1999, becoming the cross-country and track coach. Centrowitz has coached seven All-American runners. In 2001–02, his athletes captured nine

Patriot League The Patriot League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United States. Outside the Ivy League, it is among the most selective gr ...

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. In July, 2018, he was named Cross Country and Track and Field Director at Manhattan College.

Awards and honors

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. In 2005, he was named Mid-Atlantic Regional Coach of the Year.

Personal life

Matt Centrowitz and his wife Beverly had three children while living in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

. Two of his children, daughter Lauren and son Matthew Jr. are also accomplished distance runners. Lauren competed for

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

and qualified for the Olympic Trials in 2012. Matt Jr competed for the

(his father's alma mater) and now competes professionally with the

Bowerman Track Club The Bowerman Track Club (BTC) is an American training group sponsored by Nike, Inc. for professional distance runners as well as a separate recreational club for casual runners. The professional team is supported by head coach Jerry Schumacher and ...

. In 2011, Matt Jr. became the 2011 United States Champion in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

and was the bronze medalist at

in the 2011 World Championships. In 2016, he won the gold medal at the 2016 World Indoor Championships and then won the gold medal in the 1500 metres at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, becoming the first U.S. runner to win the event since 1908.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Centrowitz, Matt American male middle-distance runners American male long-distance runners American people of Irish descent American people of Jewish descent Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Pan American Games Olympic track and field athletes of the United States University of Oregon alumni Sportspeople from Annapolis, Maryland People from the Bronx 1955 births Living people Oregon Ducks men's track and field athletes Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Congressional Gold Medal recipients St. John's Red Storm track and field coaches American Eagles track and field coaches American Eagles cross country coaches Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games Track and field athletes from New York City